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SOUTH VIEW OF THE OLD-TOWN CHURCH AT KONIGSBEKG BEFORE ITS DEMOLITH 



FAITH VICTORIOUS, 



BEING AN ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE AND 
LABORS, AND OF THE TIMES 

OF 

THE VENERABLE DR. JOHANN EBEL 

LATE ARCHDEACON OF THE OLD TOWN CHURCH OF 
KONIGSBERG, IN PRUSSIA. 



DRAWN FROM AUTHENTIC SOURCES, 



T 



BY 

MBERT, D.D. 



s 

F 



NEW YORK: 
ANSON D. F. RANDOLPH & COMPANY, 

900 Broadway. 
1882. 



3X?o?o 



THE LIBRARY 
OF CONGRESS 

WASHINGTON 



Copyright 



By J. I. MOMBERT. 



PRESS OF J. J. LITTLE !> CO., 
NOS. 10 TO 20 ASTOR PLACE, NEW YORK. 



PREFACE 



This work presents : 

i. The biography of a Lutheran clergyman, but 
little known outside of Germany, but whose com- 
manding intellect, interesting history, and apostoli- 
cal zeal in the maintenance and vindication of pure 
and true evangelical doctrine in opposition to the 
skepticism and deadness of German Christianity 
in the first third of this century, entitle him to the 
gratitude, love and veneration which all lovers of 
the Lord Jesus Christ owe to the champions and 
martyrs of the faith once delivered to the saints. 

2. An account of a phase of religious life in 
Germany, the existence of which is not generally 
known, and frequently doubted, in countries of 
English speech, illustrative of the inherent power 
of Christianity to purify, develop and ennoble the 
natural endowments of the soul to the loftiest 
self-consecration. Acquaintance with the noble 
characters introduced cannot fail to interest and 
benefit all Christian readers. 

3 



4 PREFACE. 

3. A contribution to Church History, by unfold- 
ing the authentic data of the famous Religious 
Suit of Konigsberg. 

The uses contemplated affect the clergy and 
laity alike ; the clergy, by laying open the springs 
and methods of a singularly useful, effective and 
blessed ministry ; the laity, by holding up the 
illustrious example of so many devoted Christians 
to their admiration, encouragement and edifica- 
tion. 

The production, in an Appendix, of an interest- 
ing and original conception of the origin and gov- 
ernment of the world, it is hoped, will be welcomed 
as a contribution to the literature of philosophical 
and theological thought. 

The author trusts and prays that this work and 
labor of love may be blessed to his brethren in the 
ministry, and to the vastly greater number of his 
brethren of the household of faith, fellow-citizens 
with the saints, and of the commonwealth of God. 



CONTENTS 



PAGE 

Preface 3 

Chapter I. — Early Years 7 

" II. — Early Ministry 30 

" III. — Frederic College 70 

IV.— The Old-Town Church 84 

V. — Schonherr and False Friends 107 

" VI. — Noble Christians 131 

" VII.— The Religious Suit 151 

" VIII.— Rest 191 

Appendices : 

A. Sermons of Ebel 218 

1. The Great Change, Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27 218 

2. A Paradox, 2 Cor. xii. 10 236 

3. Fidelity in the Least, Luke xvi. 10-13 248 

B. Notice of Schonherr 258 

Extracts from his Writings, Remains, the works of 

others, Analyses, etc 262 

C. Miscellaneous 293 

Index 313 

Illustrations : 

I. View of the Old-Town Church Frontispiece. 

II. Ebel's Autographs 188, 200 

5 



FAITH VICTORIOUS 



CHAPTER I. 



EARLY YEAR S 



The subject of this memoir, Johannes Wilhelm Ebel, 
was born March 4, 1784, at Passenheim, in East Prussia. 
He was the first child of the Reverend Johann Jacob 
Ebel, the Lutheran minister of the place, by his wife, 
Louise Wilhelmine, daughter of the municipal councillor, 
Holdschuhe. True, earnest, simple piety marked the 
life of his parents, who, though poor as to this world, 
were rich towards God.« The mother, like Mary, had 
chosen the good part, and like Hannah, had consecrated 
her first-born to the peculiar service of God, from the 
moment of his birth. To her early vow, intermingled 
with the ardent longing of her soul, fed and animated by 
constant prayer, and to her godly example, and precepts 
drawn from the Word of God, the world is, under God, 
indebted for a large share of the pure piety, trium- 
phant faith, and love of the Scriptures, which peculiarly 
stamped the life and graced the ministry of Johannes, 
or as we shall call him, of John Ebel. 

To this general characterization, we now add some 
particulars shedding light on the influences that pre- 
sided over the early life and culture of the child John, 

7 



8 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

as he was being trained in the nurture and admonition 
of the Lord. His father was a man of considerable at- 
tainments, a good classic and theologian. Though de- 
vout and believing, profoundly convinced of the divine 
origin of Holy Scripture, and the necessity of a holy life, 
rendered efficacious through intimate personal relation 
to the Saviour, he was not altogether free from the dom- 
inant neological thought of the period at the commence- 
ment of his ministry. As he advanced in years, his aban- 
donment of neological views, and adoption of strictly 
biblical theology became more pronounced. But there 
is no trace of neological tendency in the pure, translu- 
cent piety of the mother, who, early orphaned, and ex- 
posed to harsh treatment at the hands of a step-mother, 
had turned in touching simplicity to the protecting care 
of the Father in heaven, and was wont to hold all things 
in Him, and Him in all things. The correspondence of 
the betrothed gives evidence of the deep piety of both, 
and shows that their union, so happy through life, began, 
continued, and ended in God ! The grand principle 
which those godly parents imprinted in indelible char- 
acters on the mind of John was this, that it is our duty 
to live on earth for heaven j that principle was their rule 
of life, which they applied to everything, and of course, 
to the education of their children. Family worship at 
the beginning and close of every day, grace at meajs, 
the solemn celebration of the Lord's Supper on high fes- 
tivals, belonged to the conduct of a Christian home, in 
which prayer was the native element. In weal and woe, 
in seasons of want, which were the rule, and seasons of 
plenty, which were the exception, their wants and neces- 
sities, their joys and griefs, were carried to the throne of 
grace, and the never-failing providence of God was ever 



EARLY YEARS. 9 

sought in believing, hopeful trust. Religion was a re- 
ality, and interpenetrated every, even the most ordinary, 
part of daily life. Under such influences, augmented by 
judicious religious instruction and Bible history enforced 
by direct application, John grew up in the fear of God, 
and cherished the thought to become a minister. He 
loved to pray, and early acquired the faculty of commit- 
ting hymns and making the hymns texts of sermons, 
which, when he could command no other audience, he 
would deliver to an imaginary congregation, consisting 
of dolls, carved for the purpose out of wood. 

Naturally endowed with a tender, kind, and sympathetic 
disposition, the boy was a universal favorite, and when 
in his seventh year he was sent to school, the shortcom- 
ings of fellow pupils, especially when they led to punish- 
ment, gave him unspeakable pain. Scrupulous veracity, 
unselfishness, confidential intercourse with his mother as 
to all matters relating to his own early troubles and trials 
and temptations, were some of the engaging traits of the 
young child. One of the greatest secrets of earthly hap- 
piness he learned from intercourse with that sweet and 
saintly mother, the secret which St. Paul so eloquently 
commends to the Philippians ; " Rejoice in the Lord 
always," the joy which is the outcome of personal holi- 
ness, and the testimony of a good conscience. That se- 
cret, connected with habitual prayer and thanksgiving, 
which he learned from his mother, he never forsook in 
after life ; it was perhaps the most distinctive feature of 
his character and ministry. 

The rather primitive school at Passenheim, and private 
instruction in Latin at home, supplied until his eleventh 
year the means of his education. In 1795 tne even ten o r 
of the good people's life was interrupted by a call to be- 



10 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

come assistant minister in the Polish congregation at 
Konigsberg, extended to the hard-worked and ill-paid 
servant of Christ, which, while it brought change, was 
hardly a promotion, for the emoluments of the position 
at Konigsberg were not better than those connected with 
that at Passenheim, and keeping the wolf from the door 
was the ever-pressing concomitant of his sacred office. 
But the change from quiet Passenheim to busy stirring 
Konigsberg, with its splendid scholastic institutions and 
famous university, brought sunshine into the mind of 
John, and his lively imagination fell quickly to work to 
portray a future of golden prospects. Whatever oc- 
curred, occurred for the best ; God sent it all, and every 
momentary joy, every the least ministration of human 
kindness, was sent from on high, and viewed as a link in 
the mysterious chain of providential direction shaping 
his earthly course for a high and celestial vocation. 
John was sent to the Latin school of the Altstadt at 
Konigsberg, where he continued, with a brief interrup- 
tion to be presently narrated, until he entered the univer- 
sity. The master of that school was Hamann, one of the 
most distinguished educators of the period. It was his 
plan, in order to become personally acquainted with, all 
the pupils, even the most youthful, to teach every week a 
few hours in every class. This enabled him not only to 
study the character and mark the intellectual calibre of 
every pupil, but also to establish direct personal relations 
with them. John was an uncommonly bright, quick, 
studious and conscientious pupil. His record in every 
class was most enviable ; quick in perception and grasp, 
diligent and careful in the preparation and pursuit of his 
lessons, obedient to his teachers, kind and sympathetic 
to his fellow-pupils, and withal uniformly modest and 



EARLY YEARS. II 

pleasant, he was honored with the affection and confi- 
dence of the former, and rendered happy by the good 
will of the latter. 

John's great merits had not escaped the penetrating 
eye of Hamann, who neglected no opportunity to inflame 
the zeal and fire the ambition of his pupils. One day he 
came into John's class (the Tertia, i. e. the third down- 
ward), accompanied by a former teacher in the school, 
who, after passing a brilliant examination at Berlin, had 
just been appointed military chaplain. Hamann ad- 
dressed the class and exhorted them to take encourage- 
ment from his example to aim at high and noble ends ; 
while speaking he stood near John, and affectionately 
stroked his cheeks ; the former teacher, well acquainted 
with him, and noticing the caress, said to Hamann, " That 
boy will never be common." 

It is not to be wondered at that John was happy at 
school. Good, faithful, conscientious, manly and diligent 
boys always are ; unhappy boys at school, with very rare 
exceptions, are deficient in one or other, in some or more, 
and occasionally in all the qualities named. John's ex- 
emplary conduct bore immediate good fruit ; the praise 
of his teachers, the thankful approbation of his parents, 
the good will of his fellow-pupils made him glad and 
contented ; the report of his good behavior spread over 
the town, and the parents of the best scholars sought for 
them the companionship of so good a boy as John. 

The sunny memories of that happy school-life had 
always a tender place in the heart of Ebel. When many 
years later he wrote an admirable pamphlet on educa- 
tion,* he alluded to them, and affords us a view of a 

* Die gedeihliche Erziehung, p. 132 sqq. 



12 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

happy band of youth of whom he was the spring and 
centre and motive power. Childhood and youth, to a 
very large extent, are passed, as far as real enjoyment 
and pleasure are concerned, almost entirely in the pleas- 
ure-lands of imagination. The brightest children have 
generally the liveliest imagination, and invest the unreal 
or fictitious with a surprising degree of reality ; they 
deliberately invent unreal situations, place themselves in 
them as actors, and derive happiness from the consis- 
tency and perseverance with which they sustain their 
part. Such an ideal, imaginary estate was elaborated by 
John, for his companion and friends. It was nothing 
less than a sort of church and state ; the latter, it would 
seem, reduced to the slender proportions of a provincial 
municipality ; but there was a church and a school, with 
a full complement of preachers and masters ; there were 
services and sermons ; there were lessons and recitations, 
public examinations conducted by imaginary scholastic 
functionaries, public debates solemnly argued on Satur- 
day afternoons, and for which an elaborately prepared 
programme was duly circulated ; prizes were likewise 
awarded, and commendatory mention was made of peculi- 
arly meritorious pupils. As the young people engaged 
in the general conduct of these ideal establishments 
were rather limited in number, our ingenious friend 
John manufactured a very large public in the shape of 
small wands with carved heads, and the names of the 
respective functionaries duly inscribed thereon, and he 
likewise supplied the exchequer with funds in the shape 
of stones of a designated value. The entire common- 
wealth, embracing ministers and congregations, profes- 
sors and pupils, the magistracy, the parents and citizens 
in general, with an ample store of the circulating me- 



EARLY YEARS. 1 3 

dium, was divided among the members of the ideal 
establishment on equitable principles, who persevered in 
their unquestionably useful and improving work for a 
considerable period of time. 

It has already been intimated that John's father had 
cherished the thought that he should enter one of the 
learned professions ; he now changed his views on 
grounds sufficiently striking to justify their consideration. 
As applied to the learned professions in general, exclud- 
ing theology, the question was one of means. The 
slender income of the assistant minister imperatively 
dictated a diminution, not an increase of expenditure; 
he could not affoi-d the necessary outlay, for he had not 
got it, and therefore he ruled it wise to convert a con- 
sumer into a producer by the most expeditious and re- 
munerative course. He felt convinced that John, so 
kind, affectionate and unselfish, would certainly be the 
stay and staff of the younger children if he were once 
placed in circumstances favoring his natural promptings; 
and he decided that instead of entering the ministry, he 
should go to a merchant's office. That was reasonable 
and judicious enough, but what about theology? for that 
was the secret yearning, the daily prayer of his wife, and 
that was ever uppermost in the heart and mind of John. 
Why then did he propose, for propose he certainly did, 
that what he knew would give pain and sorrow all 
around ? The pecuniary argument did not apply here, 
for friends and assistance, to say nothing of faith in God, 
would certainly have been found, as eventually they were 
found. What then were the reasons, which he, as a 
clergyman, had to oppose to the darling desire of his 
wife and of his son ? He lived in sad times; he was not 
only half starved, but he felt in bitterness of soul that 



14 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

the ministry was scorned and despised, like Christianity 
itself, by a skeptical, free-thinking, rationalistic but irra- 
tional generation. To study theology, to preach Chris- 
tian doctrine as taught in the New Testament, and to 
enter the church, were in the public estimate to study, 
preach and practise hypocrisy. This sentiment was so 
universally held, that the poor assistant minister, who 
was half starved to death, and had to toil like a slave, 
felt himself daily and hourly insulted in the thought and 
speech of his contemporaries. It was a galling thought, 
and he felt that though such torture and excruciating 
agony might be borne by him, yet as far as he might be 
able to prevent it, it should not be endured by his noble, 
pure, true, sensitive and scrupulously conscientious John, 
and therefore he told him, "You must not become a 
minister; it would kill you; the world is too corrupt; and 
you are too conscientious to submit to the hardships of 
the ministry." It was a sore trial to them all, when against 
the wishes of the good mother, against the entreaties of Di- 
rector Hamann, and against the boy's own deep and invin- 
cible yearnings, he was removed from the Secunda (the sec- 
ond class) to a merchant's office, and had to study French 
and Polish in place of the classics. But John was not to be 
a merchant ; the work did not agree with him, he grew sick- 
ly and the good assistant minister became convinced that 
it was an intimation of Providence to cease his opposition to 
the desire and entreaties of all concerned, and thus he con- 
sented to his return to school and the prosecution of his 
preparatory studies in Prima (i. e. the highest class). 

There Hamann taught almost exclusively. His method 
was singularly lucid and stimulative, and his influence 
magnetic. In the class-room, he taught, and understood 
to inspire his pupils with an enthusiastic thirst for knowl- 



EARLY YEARS. 1 5 

edge. There was no slavish, mechanical committal of 
the dull, packed sections and paragraphs of text books, 
alike suicidal to independent thought and the mastering 
of a subject, alike injurious to teacher and taught. His 
method was oral instruction of an uncommonly well- 
informed, original mind, conveyed in warm, earnest, con- 
vincing strains to eager, ambitious students. He urged 
them to go beyond the prescript curriculum and read con- 
jointly at home selected portions of classical authors, and 
of German writers. This advice was not neglected by 
John, who derived great benefit from the judicious and 
diligent improvement of his spare time. 

In his parental home Sunday was kept, neither accord- 
ing to the prevailing spirit of desecration, nor according 
to the Mosaic literalness of Puritanic sabbath observance. 
His father recommended and practised a middle course; 
all work proper was rigidly forbidden, i. e. all regular 
work ; work belonging to the week days, which included 
of course school work, was relegated to week-days. 
First came public worship, and then social intercourse ; 
the two were not treated as incompatibles, but as comple- 
mentaries ; and while social intercourse admitted of 
pastime and recreation, it allowed likewise private 
reading or the study of favorite authors ; the latter was 
John's way of filling the leisure hours of the Lord's Day. 
Gellert's Moral Prelections, and J. P. Miller's Moral De- 
lineations* he found peculiarly attractive. Works of a 
philosophical and religious tone seemed to charm him 
most. As Hamann's views of Christianity were de- 
cidedly negative, and the prevailing sentiment at Konigs- 
berg in general, and in the Latin school in particular, 

* Schaffhausen, 1779. 



1 6 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

ran in the same direction, there was a good deal of re- 
ligious, or more truly, of irreligious controversy among 
the pupils. Among them was one who loved to fire the 
salvos of Voltaire and Rousseau at Christianity, and pro- 
voked John, who even then clung to his religious convic- 
tion with that intensity of persistence which is almost 
always allied to natures whom the French call entier, to 
vindicate it from the aspersions he cast upon it. This 
prompted him to ransack the well-stocked and carefully 
selected library of his father for apologetic works, and to 
master their arguments against scoffers and skeptics. 
Thus he became, at a comparatively early period, fa- 
miliar e. g. with Lilienthal's Gute Sache* and many other 
thoughtful works, whose persual led him to think and 
form independent opinions in a field of theological in- 
quiry for which he appeared to be peculiarly fitted, and 
in which he speedily earned golden laurels. He read 
fast, and acquired the useful habit of keeping the run of, 
and acquaintance with new publications, especially peri- 
odical literature, to which he devoted his leisure mo- 
ments at meals. The books he studied were of a weighty 
sort, on topics connected with philosophy and theology ; 
and as he was wont to take notes and extracts as he 
went along, every department of human knowledge was 
made to contribute to his intellectual outfit. At that 
time his memory was more tenacious of facts, and the 
true essence of any matter he might have in hand, than 
of literal technicalities. 

Hamann, the head of the Latin School, was the son of 
a very remarkable man, Johann Georg Hamann, who, 
from his own nom de plume, is known in literature as the 

* Konigsberg, 1760. 



EARLY YEARS. 1 7 

"Magus of the North." As a writer he is humorous, 
rather cynical, but all his sentiments are dipped in Chris- 
tianity ; his philosophy is essentially Christian and bibli- 
cal. Herder said that " every thought of his is an un- 
strung pearl, wrapped in the very words without which 
it could neither have been thought nor spoken." 

The son did not in any way share the religious convic- 
tions of his sire, but deemed them foolishness, and had a 
very reprehensible way of ridiculing and sneering at the 
dogmas of the Christian verity. His innuendoes, often 
thrust at John, neither shook his faith, nor weakened the 
affectionate relations which marked his intercourse with 
Hamann. When he left school in 1801, the official testi- 
monial, here produced, reflects the opinion which had 
been formed of him by his teachers : " Johannes Wil- 
helm Ebel, of Passenheim in Prussia, has been for six 
years a pupil of this school. Throughout that period he 
has been continuously diligent and unremittingly devoted 
to his studies. Having utilized every moment of his 
time r his progress in scientific knowledge has been so 
satisfactory, that in the unanimous and commendatory 
judgment of the officially appointed examiners, he has 
been found qualified to frequent the free halls of aca- 
demical learning, it being his intention to study theology. 
His disposition is so singularly friendly and amiable that 
we cannot part with him without sorrow ; and we may 
confidently predict that in this respect he will remain 
unchanged. Our cordial wishes for prosperity in all his 
efforts and undertakings accompany him." 

Before following him to the university, the extraordi- 
nary diligence and application referred to in the testi- 
monial, need an explanatory word. Besides his regular 
school duties, he was obliged to supervise and help a 



1 8 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

younger brother and several boarders in his father's 
family, in the preparation of their school exercises. His 
own statement, made at a subsequent period, sheds light 
on this matter : " As the child of poor parents, I was 
compelled, since my fifteenth year, to contribute to my 
own support by giving private lessons ; and after my 
eighteenth year to assist in the maintenance of my 
father's family by spending simultaneously with my aca- 
demical studies, daily, five hours in a public school, as my 
father's substitute, who on account of sickness, was un- 
able to do the work." 

The relations to his fellow-students were most cordial 
and pleasant. Of a peaceful temperament, he had no 
quarrels of his own, but was successful in composing 
those of others. Fond of mirth and harmless pleasures, 
and averse to exclusiveness, he- bore his part in the pub- 
lic social gatherings of the students, who liked his frank 
and cheerful demeanor. The same diligence and appli- 
cation which had marked his course at school character- 
ized his progress at the university. The circle of his 
acquaintance was quite extensive, and he enjoyed the 
esteem and affection of his fellow-students ; but he had 
not found among them a really intimate or truly con- 
genial friend. Nor is this matter of surprise, if we bear 
in mind the deep, strong religious convictions which 
colored all his efforts and inspirations, and contrast them 
with the frivolity and irreligion which animated the aca- 
demic youth of the period. They simply reflected the 
prevalent sentiment that religion was hypocrisy, and 
would often tease him with the jocose inquiry, how he 
would ever manage to get along as spriest (Pfaffe), as 
he was not cut out for a hypocrite. The contemptuous- 
ness of the word Pfaffe which they used, does not attach 



EARLY YEARS. 1 9 

to the English priest ; it is generally employed with a 
liberal infusion of envenomed hatred and derision. 

Soon after entering the university, John had the great 
sorrow to lose his good mother after a fortnight's illness. 
She died as a true Christian. After taking leave of all 
the rest, she beckoned John to her side, and poured into 
his ears her deep and intense love ; she told him how it 
had been the ardent, never-dying yearning of her soul 
that he should be a minister of the Word ; that that had 
been her prayer before he was born ; that her husband's 
opposition had caused her unspeakable pain, and almost 
made her uncertain as to what might be the will of God 
, in the matter; but that now everything seemed to point 
so clearly in one direction, that she felt sure that her 
prayer would be heard, and that he would not study law, 
as his father seemed to desire. Then she blessed him, 
adding in great tenderness: " If all my prayers for you 
are heard, my child, you will be the happiest of the chil- 
dren of men." Her last words were : " Indeed you will 
and must needs prosper, for you have caused us nothing 
but joy." That sainted mother's life-long prayers and 
dying benediction were ratified on high, for the child of 
so many prayers grew to become a man of prayer, ever 
ineffably happy in the love of Christ, and impressing all 
that knew him with the placid serenity that was mirrored 
in his mind and life, though storms of trials and tempests 
of adversity beat upon his soul. 

Schulz and Hasse were foremost among the theologi- 
ans whom John heard. The views of the former were 
orthodox, 1. e. biblical, those of the latter neological. 
While his sympathies went out to the first, he could not 
withhold his admiration from the straightforward, out- 
spoken frankness and native truthfulness of the second, 



20 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

and he attended almost all his prelections on the the- 
ology, pedagogics and the Oriental languages. Hasse's 
hetorodoxy did not in any way contaminate the strong 
biblical bias of our young theological student, who very 
judiciously sought for breadth of view, and toiled and 
struggled to find the true and trusty foundation of the 
love of Jesus, in the conflict of philosophical and theo- 
logical opinions which must often have seemed to him a 
veritable Babel for confusion and contradiction. He was 
passing through the great ordeal which was to test the 
purity, strength and sincerity of his religious convictions. 
Such an ordeal to true and conscientious minds is harder 
intellectually and emotionally than the material ordeal 
of fire and water of which we read in history. There is 
a crisis in the theological culture of every student when 
he must form opinions based on the study of the Scrip- 
tures, and where the ipse dixit of the professor is rarely 
satisfactory. He must think for himself ; he wants rea- 
sons for his belief ; reasons for his convictions ; and the 
question comes sometimes with irresistible force : Which 
is stronger ? where are the strongest proofs ? what am I 
to believe ? am I to follow the promptings of personal 
inclination ? or must I sacrifice personal inclination to 
the superior experience of my teacher, and the still higher 
claims of truth ? And what is truth ? In English and 
American theological seminaries the difficulties are not 
anything as great as those which beset the path of a 
student in a German university, where professors of al- 
most every diversity of theological belief or unbelief are 
at liberty to unfold their respective views, while the stu- 
dents are not compelled to attend the lectures of men 
all of the same stripe, but at liberty to hear whom they 
choose. In the midst of such a chaos of conflicting 



EARLY YEARS. 21 

opinions stood young Ebel, doubtful, hesitating, swayed 
hither and thither, humble-minded and in danger of los- 
ing his self-reliance ; eager and strong in long-cherished 
feelings, and in danger of sacrificing truth to inclination ; 
he weighed and balanced thought with thought, referred 
what he heard and read to the word of God, and sought 
for light and direction in habitual intercourse with God 
in prayer. The possession of the truth, no matter from 
which quarter it came to him, grasped in faith, held con- 
scientiously and in charity, that was his aim, and in the 
congenial soil of such an aim rooted the impartiality and 
conscientiousness which are conspicuous traits of his 
character. 

Thoroughly unsettled on matters where doubt and 
perplexity mean unhappiness, and where indecision makes 
confusion worse confounded, Ebel was wondering where 
the solution might lie — whether after all that good 
mother's prayers, and her prophetic utterances, after 
all, and notwithstanding all his own most cherished feel- 
ings, it were not wiser and better, whether it were not 
right for him to abandon theology and turn pedagogue, 
or whether he should persevere and struggle on, de- 
termined to succeed ? Just at that critical moment the 
matter was decided for him in a way which is best given 
in his own words : 

" I was eighteen years old, when I heard a friend of our 
family state incidentally that he had become acquainted with 
a man (Johann Heinrich Schonherr) who had successfully 
established a perfect agreement of the whole Bible, even as 
to its verbal declarations, by proofs of reason, with a force of 
conviction simply irresistible, and all but unanswerable by 
scoffing unbelievers. Like a light from heaven this glorious 
news shed its gladsome beams into my heart of hearts, and 



22 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

joy unspeakable took hold of my being. It seemed as if all 
the dreadful questionings, which rose unbidden, and which I 
trembled to formulate, were answered, as if all darkness were 
dispelled, and that a sweet presentiment overcame me, whis- 
pering the fulfilment of my deepest longings. From a child 
brought up in reverence of the word of God, the doubts of 
its truth and the contradiction of its declarations, vociferously 
uttered all around me by my teachers and fellow-students, 
could not fail to disquiet my heart, and to hold it in anxious', 
painful suspense. When I tried to meet and oppose them, I 
would, after long and idle contendings, retire to a corner of 
my attic room, shed bitter tears, and pour out my heart 
before God, accusing and condemning myself, and bewailing 
my inability to save His word from defamation, and to vindi- 
cate its declarations from the foul aspersions and criticisms 
of the rationalists. This anxious and agonizing pain were all 
the greater because I cherished the desire to study theology ; 
but that darling wish, I felt, must be abandoned, as far as I 
felt myself unable to grapple with the adversaries, and shrunk 
from the thought of appearing in the pulpit with the Bible in 
my hand, and thoughts inimical or conflicting with its truths 
in my mind — in other words, of preaching in opposition to 
conviction. ... In the midst of this soul-struggle, in the 
midst of fears and longings, that blessed beam brought light. 
The good news of my friend, that reason and revelation were 
in agreement, and that the man who had succeeded to estab- 
lish that agreement, was still in the land of the living."* 

Opportunity for personal acquaintance with Schon- 
herr soon occurred in a house which both were in the 
habit of visiting. Ebel was at that time a handsome, 
thoughtful youth of eighteen ; Schonherr a man of thirty- 
two. The singular seriousness and devout veneration of 

* Ebel Schliissel zur Erkenntniss der Wahrheit, Leipzig, 1837, 
p. 1. 



EARLY YEARS. 23 

Holy Scripture which marked the attitude of Ebel, and 
singled him out from other students who were wont to 
ridicule and belittle the inspired volume, did not escape 
Schonherr. He took a lively interest in Ebel, who lis- 
tened in profound and respectful attention to the mighty 
and well nigh wonderful utterance of that noble and 
richly gifted man. It sometimes happens that intellec- 
tual or moral affinities which attract men to each other 
are accompanied by physical resemblance. This was 
noticed by one who saw Schonherr and Ebel together, 
and recorded it many years afterwards in these words : 

" His very features remind me of Schonherr, although 
Ebel is more handsome, and his carriage and speech 
exhibit a higher degree of refinement and culture." 

The dualistic principle so emphatically presented by 
Schonherr, and diametrically opposed to the current 
ideas on the relation of matter and mind, to the Coper- 
nican system, and other prevailing tendencies, startled 
the young student, and he was far from being in accord 
with it. Its affinity and consonance with Holy Scripture, 
as maintained by Schonherr, came not with the force of 
immediate conviction. On the contrary, he opposed it 
for years with every weapon which the study of meta- 
physics, and a certain hardness of believing engendered 
by it, were able to furnish ; and it was not until after 
long and earnest resistance that he struggled into a 
position where, simultaneously with the reception of the 
Bible as the inspired word of God, he attained the 
delightful assurance of conviction that there is a way to 
read and understand that Word, which puts its declara- 
tions in perfect harmony with the results of reasonable 
inquiry and the phenomena of nature.* 

* Ebel, Geschichte des Fiiedrichs Collegii, p. 62. 



24 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

A few words on this subject seem to be in place 
here ; for a fuller account the Appendix B may be con- 
sulted. 

Prompted by an invincible desire for clear convictions 
on the subject of immortality, Schonherr, in the course 
of his studies on the origin of the world, thought he 
had made the discovery that water is the primary matter 
and light the formative principle. He read in the Bible 
that a plurality of Elohim had been engaged in the work 
of creation, and the thought took shape in his mind that 
nature is pervaded by two principles in perfect analogy 
to the biblical Elohim. Two of his friends, in a work 
published after his death,* declare that he would not 
have cognized the existence of the two primary Beings 
in the world of creation from the word "Elohim," or 
been able to develop the thought and doctrine of the 
creation of the world by their eternal, uncreated and im- 
perishable existence, if the spirit of Truth had not first 
led him to the study of nature, and allowed him to see 
there — at first darkly, indistinctly, and, as it were, from 
a distance — what Holy Scripture teaches in the history 
of creation. Like St. Paul, he took hints for the knowl- 
edge of God from what he saw in the works of creation, 
and rose from nature to nature's God. It was a revela- 
tion that filled him with joy unspeakably grateful. " Crea- 
tion," he said, "is a sealed book ; the Bible breaks the 
seal. Who does not understand the Bible, does not 
understand creation ; not because he cannot find within 
and round about himself the truths taught in the Bible, 
but because he has not yet found them there. And does 

* Johann Heinrich Schonherr uud die von ihm erkannte Wahr- 
licit, Konigsberg, 1834, part I. p. 29, sqq. 



EARLY YEARS. 25 

this not hold good of all knowledge ? We have only 
words as long as reason and experience have not enabled 
us to know and understand the objects they designate. 
You may tell one that has never seen the light much of 
its nature and properties ; he hears what you tell him, 
and remembers the words, but he does not know the 
tight."* 

Moreover, he took note that while the Bible does not 
mention the creation of water, it seems to intimate that it 
is the primary matter in 2 Pet. hi. 5 : " For this they will- 
ingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the 
heavens were of old, and the earth consisting out of 
water, and in water." In the history of the creation, we 
read that " the Spirit of God was moving upon the face 
of the waters." He held firmly that Moses preached one 
God ; but Moses names Elohim, and alternately em- 
ploys the words Elohim and Jehovah ; that, he thought 
must have a reason and a design. The concept of God 
was to him a concept of correlation, according to which 
he thought of God as the Supreme, the Most High, Most 
Mighty, Most Wise Being, and felt constrained — un- 
less he should speculate beyond what Scripture declares 
on the subject — to regard Him not as the Sole Original, 
Primary Being, without whom there never existed any- 
thing at any time, but biblically, as the Supreme, Primary 
Being, as the Jehovah of the Elohim. God is to him 
the only Almighty God, Creator of all things ; but, he 
opined, if there had never been another Being beside 
Himself, not anything would ever have come into being ; 
he took umbrage at the notion of a creation out of noth- 
ing, and deemed it absurd ; and if that notion were meant 

* Schonherr, Sieg der Gottlichen Offenbarung, p. 4, 



26 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

to express that the creation was the effect of the 
almighty will of God, that would make it unsubstantial 
and contrary to all experience, which coincides with the 
biblical representation of God always working by means. 
He thought, with others since his day, that it is a senile 
prejudice to reduce the creation to a single principle, and 
unwarranted temerity to leave the discovered traces of 
the Bible. Neither the fiction that Elohim designates 
the sacred Trinity, nor the makeshift of its being a phtralis 
majestaticus * deterred Schonherr from stoutly maintain- 
ing that Elohim must be more than Elohah ; that a 
plural form must originally have been connected with a 
plurality of persons, and that the Elohim designates a 
real plurality. 

It is proper to emphasize here that it was not Schon- 
herr's dualism, but his reception of the Bible as the word 
of God, which attracted Ebel ; that he made very clear 
in later years, when under the imputation of sectarian 
tendencies he was the subject of an almost unparalleledly 
wicked persecution, and declared ad acta : " I confess 
from the bottom of my heart, that I value Schonherr's 
theory, solely because it appears to me to have greater 
biblical authority, as far as man can determine it, than 
other theories. If it does not agree with? the Bible, I am 
still prepared to fling it aside as trash." 

It was a curious age, that age of enlightenment, in 
which the shape of man's coat, or the cut and length of 
his beard, were regarded as essentials of respectability 

* Ewald, llebr. Grammar, § 361, denies that the Hebrew lan- 
guage has any feeling for a so-called pluralis majestaticus, and ac- 
counts for the plural form of Elohim, because, according to the 
conception of the ancients, the Deity was thought as infinitely nu- 
merous, and divisible, and yet conjoined. 



EARLY YEARS. 27 

and even of orthodoxy. Poor Schonherr liked to wear 
a long coat, and his medical adviser had recommended 
him to let his hair and beard grow long. That was 
enough to the men of his generation to deprive him of 
both respectability and orthodoxy ; but then the of- 
ficial (/. e. secular) orthodox belief of the period was 
rank infidelity, and hatred of religion and morality, and 
thus it came to pass, that to walk with Schonherr in the 
streets of Konigsberg, was a stone of stumbling, and a 
rock of offence. Schonherr was peculiar, one-sided, rode 
hobbies ; but are we not all peculiar, more or less one- 
sided, and do not we ride hobbies ? Yet he was through 
and through a good man and true, singularly gifted, and 
an enthusiast, vastly superior to many other enthusiasts, 
clean-shaven and long-bearded, in costume Oriental or 
Occidental. And Ebel was not the man to take umbrage 
at such trifles, and he stuck to his friend. And his 
friend he was, and remained, and proved it on many oc- 
casions, but chiefly in telling him the truth. As Schon- 
herr never founded a sect, neither Ebel, nor others who 
adopted some of his views, and held them as private, 
could be called his followers or adherents ; if that were 
so, a many-sided man, or a man of great and varied cul- 
ture, who adopts all sorts of views from all sorts of 
people might be accused of almost every heresy under 
heaven, and of being tinged with the most contradictory 
sectarian tendencies ; if heresy and sect-hunting were 
carried on in the spirit which forty years ago existed in 
Prussia, many a prelate might tremble in his shoes, many 
a professor would be cashiered, many a priest would be 
unfrocked. 

At this early period Ebel regarded Schonherr as a 
great benefactor, in having helped him out of the dark- 



28 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

ness of doubt and perplexity into the sunlight of un- 
dimmed, childlike faith in the word of God. In the 
principle of the two primary Beings he saw a key to the 
proper understanding of nature and revelation ; a key, 
not of magnetic virtue, so that at its approach all locks 
must open spontaneously, but a key of the ordinary sort, 
requiring careful fitting and careful handling, and beyond 
that he really never went with Schonherr, to whom he 
always felt grateful for that early guidance at a most 
critical period of his life. That principle enabled Ebel 
to solve to himself the imystery — for it is truly a mystery 
or a secret disclosed — of human freedom, which he felt 
cannot be explained on any other basis so as to meet the 
statements of Holy Scripture and convince the under- 
standing ; it enabled him to see man under the influence 
of two powers ; it enabled him, likewise, better to un- 
derstand the biblical dogma of the devil ; to form a 
lofty, true and delightful conception of the truths of sal- 
vation, of the lofty position of man, of his high and 
glorious destiny, and of the establishment of the king- 
dom of heaven, all of which were treated at the time as 
idle imaginings, allegorized into poetic myths or ex- 
plained away by methods of interpretation often as con- 
temptible in the interpreters as they were insulting to 
hearers and readers alike. But Ebel was fortified by 
Schonherr in his strong biblical bias to accept the verbal 
inspiration of the Bible ; and how Schonherr reasoned 
and expressed himself, and how his impassioned utter- 
ances must have delighted the ears and rejoiced the 
heart of the ardent youth the reader may judge of from 
a few samples gathered at random from his writings and 
placed in Appendix B. 

In the meantime the meeting with Schonherr decided 



EARLY YEARS. 29 

his course ; thenceforth theology was to be his study, 
and to win souls for Christ and work towards the setting 
up of Christ's kingdom his prayerful vocation. For that 
he was indebted to the friendship of Schonherr ; but it 
was a friendship that had much to try him, as the sequel 
will show. 



CHAPTER II. 

EARLY MINI STRY. 

Ebel passed the examination of candidate in theology 
before the theological faculty at Konigsberg in 1804, and 
according to usage, began what may be called his novi- 
tiate as collaborator or assistant in a school, under the 
direction of Dr. Hamann, to which he was preferred 
through the interest and influence of his old master. 
Familiar intercourse with experienced and able educa- 
tors proved highly beneficial to the young candidate, 
quick and apt to turn his opportunities to good account. 
Besides certain secular branches, he was specially charged 
with the religious instruction of the whole school from 
Secunda downwards. His relations to the other teachers 
were very cordial, and to the pupils singularly delightful ; 
he knew the secret of commanding their affections, and 
the religious recitations, as a rule the least affected in 
gymnasia, were the most popular in the school. This 
speaks volumes for the tact and heart of a teacher able 
to establish such happy relations to his pupils, for it 
points unmistakably to sincere and warm feelings on his 
part, which youth is ever ready to reciprocate. They 
loved him, and therefore strove to please him in every 
way, and it is touching to read that two or three me- 

30 



EARLY MINISTRY. 3 1 

mentos of trifling value, presented to him by his pupils, 
were unspeakably precious to him even in old age, when 
he would feelingly point to a pocket-book, an album, 
and a small goblet, inscribed with the words, " in token 
of grateful love." The secret of his success as a teacher 
of religion may be expressed in a single sentence, " cheer- 
fulness and godliness." He believed more in the force 
of example than in the force of precept ; uniformly 
cheerful himself, kind, sympathetic, and averse to sanc- 
timonious language, he understood to convince his youth- 
ful friends that the cheerfulness which springs from a 
heart aglow with the love of God and a good con- 
science is not only compatible with sincere piety and 
holiness, but its necessary concomitant. His views 
on this subject are truly admirable, and may be read 
at length in a volume which bears the title, "Ueber 
gedeihliche Erziekung" Hamburg, 1825, from which I 
select the following passage, as applicable now as it 
was half a century ago. His topic is godly cheerful- 
ness as the true means of inculcating piety in the heart 
of youth, and its example as the best way to accomplish 
it ; he says : 

" How different would the world be, if teachers were to 
deal with their dear children in this spirit. We should not 
see the pious contortions of countenance, religious curvatures 
and holy inclinings, or hear the devout groans of a class of 
people who think that they render God service in the out- 
ward show of repentance, and who though under the care of 
the heavenly Physician appear like sickly invalids all the 
days of their life. How much more profitable for all to know 
that as a judicious earthly physician likes nothing better in 
his patients than a cheerful look, provided they do not overdo 
it, so the heavenly Physician loves cheerful courage in His 



32 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

patients, and welcomes it as the fit concomitant of His 
grace, whereas intentional dejectedness invariably cometh of 
evil. Then the voice of joy and the voice of gladsome praise 
would again go out into all the world (Jer. xxxi. 12, 13 ; xxiii. 
11, 12); young men and old would rejoice together before their 
God ; and the world would not be ashamed to blend its song 
with the birds', as they sing among the branches, as a tribute 
of praise for the glories of creation offered to the author of 
gladness and joy. No one would take umbrage if people of 
culture conversed as freely on things divine as they discuss 
human affairs ; there would be no more heresy-mongers, to 
scent prayer-meetings and new sects in the harmless and 
free interchange of thought among sensible men — and the 
whole course of our life would be bathed in the sunlight of a 
higher world ! " 

The last sentence has fortunately no such meaning 
here, as that which it had to its author and his readers ; 
it came from the depths of a noble soul, stung and 
wounded, persecuted and hunted down by just such 
heresy-mongers. 

In the following year (1805) the school- work, so 
pleasant and congenial, had to undergo certain modi- 
fications necessitated by new duties, enchaining many 
advantages and grave responsibilities. It came about as 
follows. Count Dohna-Schlodien had two sons whom 
he wished to place under proper supervision at the 
university. There were difficulties to find a suitable 
tutor, and young Ebel, a little more than twenty, was so 
strongly recommended to the Count that he put them 
under his care. As his new duties required him to 
accompany the young counts to the university and hear 
the lectures they attended, it was of course impossible 
for him to continue his work at the Altstadt-School, 
and he prepared the way for separation by restricting 



EARLY MINISTRY. 33 

his attendance to a few hours. The care of the young 
counts was certainly not a sinecure ; their first education 
had been at a school conducted by the Moravian broth- 
ers at Uist. Their peculiar system of narrow, straight- 
laced and rigorous religious formalism was not calculated 
to benefit youth, who were kept in strict exclusiveness, 
and taught that worldly pleasure of every kind was 
wicked ; outwardly they had all to be saints, but in- 
wardly they detested saintliness and longed for freedom, 
and for that self-same world they were supposed to have 
abjured. The eider brother, in particular, confounding 
the peculiar notions of the Uist brotherhood with Chris- 
tianity, formed a positive aversion to it and all religion. 
From the strict exclusiveness of Uist their father re- 
moved them to Dresden, where they studied in private, 
and enjoyed almost unbounded license. The transition 
from one extreme to another was a great mistake, and 
led to consequences which rendered a middle course 
matter of absolute necessity. For that the expedient 
was adopted of placing the young men under Ebel's 
care ; a momentous and difficult position under all cir- 
cumstances, but peculiarly so, when respect is had to 
the circumstance that Ebel was only by one year the 
senior of the elder, and by two of the younger of the 
brothers. But a better and more judicious choice could 
hardly have been made ; for it has already been shown 
that Ebel was through and through unostentatiously 
devout, firm, judicious, and affectionate. His plan was 
to treat them as equals, and to appeal to their best in- 
stincts rather by the force of example than by magis- 
terial precepts, which the peculiar sensitiveness of his 
pupils would have resented. He consulted them as to 
the most advantageous use of their time ; they agreed 



34 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

upon the adoption of a scheme of work, readily fell in 
with their tutor's suggestion to read the classics, and as 
he set them the example of regularity and understood to 
win their confidence, esteem and affection, the method 
was crowned with success. There still remained the 
question of companionship, not so easily regulated at a 
university ; of nearly the same age and attending the 
same lectures, their companions were his, and as he 
established friendly relations with them, the whole bent 
and direction of their social life ran in proper channels. 
Young men of about twenty years of age feel tutelage of 
any sort irksome ; it was the tutor's part to keep a 
watchful eye over their movements, and as anything like 
espionage was, of course, utterly out of the question, 
Ebel put them on their honor, and tried to get their 
confidence by giving them his. He would tell them 
where he went, when he had occasion to leave the house, 
that they might know where to find him ; and that, of 
course, prompted similar frankness on their part, more 
in the case of the younger, however, than in that of the 
elder.* As to him it may be here stated, that he told 
Ebel on leaving the university, that before his acquaint- 
ance with him he had regarded all persons professing 
religious principles as hypocrites, but that he was the 
first to convince him of the error of his hasty judg- 
ment. 

* The younger fell in the war of 1813 ; he was one of the three, 
whose death is commemorated in Max von Schenkendorf's poem 
" The three Counts." His father, in a letter to Ebel, on that sor- 
rowful providence, touchingly narrates how the young hero during 
the armistice made his servant read the Bible, which he tried to the 
best of his ability to explain and commend to him. The tutor's 
teaching had not been forgotten. 



EARLY MINISTRY. 35 

This tutorship brought many advantages to the young 
candidate ; its emoluments rid him of care and enabled 
him to buy books ; the frequenting of lectures on branches 
of science with which he had not any previous or only 
imperfect acquaintance, e. g. Political Economy, Physics, 
and especially Metaphysics, expanded his culture and 
brought him in contact with the most distinguished pro- 
fessors. Peculiarly beneficial were the philosophical 
prelections of Krug (the successor of Kant) ; and his 
excellent advice subjecting all philosophical or similar 
systems to unprejudiced and calm examination he sought 
to follow throughout life.* It was at the instance of 
Krug that the university of Leipzig conferred on Ebel 
the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, in 1810. 

Moreover, the excellent connections of the young 
counts gave him the entree into the best society at 
Konigsberg ; and his affability, gentleness and modesty, 
his conversational facility, and aptness to learn and 
readiness of adaptation stood him in good stead ; famili- 
arity with the forms of polite intercourse added a new 
element to his many-sidedness, and frequent participation 
in festive gatherings and amusements, as well as occa- 
sional visits to the theatre taught him to form a proper 
estimate of the advantages and disadvantages of social 
life. Thoroughly at his ease and at home in society, he 
early learned to prefer the intercourse of a few chosen 
and congenial companions to that of the great multitude. 

There was at Konigsberg at that time an aesthetical 
club, a rather heterogeneous sort of a body, composed of 
persons representing the utmost variety of vocations, but 
occupying common ground in the then comparatively 

* His own statement in the History of Frederic College. 



36 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

new field of ^Esthetics. Among them were students, 
poets, and even actors. Max von Schenkendorf belonged 
to it, and so did Ebel. His influence was excellent, and 
the relation a pleasing one. Of this there is written testi- 
mony, showing likewise his peculiar aptitude to turn the 
aspirations of others to high and holy ends. One wrote 
thus : "I live in you with all my soul. You are so truly 
devout and childlike. Would I could be like you ! I am 
struggling and striving without avail. But in thought I am 
with you, and it is my holiest endeavor to follow the 
Good and live in God. — I stood in need of your manly 
gentleness, for though all are manly, they are not gentle, 
except G., who is gentle but not manly." Another with 
whom he corresponded wrote : " I have fought in these 
days many a hard battle. My senses, ever prompting me 
to earthly pleasures, give me much trouble. I read the 
Bible, and acquire strength. And to whom am I indebt- 
ed for all this ? To you, the man with a pure heart ; you 
spoke out of its fulness and filled mine. Accept my 
sincere and unfeigned thanks. The few hours spent 
with you have borne fruit a thousand-fold. But enough, 
you know what I mean." 

Among his acquaintance at that time we must not for- 
get the name of Borowski, an excellent clergyman, whose 
sermons he loved to hear. He invited him to fill his 
pulpit, and advised him to commit his sermons after 
writing them, for in Germany the use of manuscript in 
the pulpit is almost unknown. Ebel had no aptitude 
that way ; his plan was to make thorough preparation, to 
master his subject, feel it through and through, and de- 
pend for expression on the inspiration of the moment. 
The vivacity of his mind and his fresh, creative faculty 
forbade slavish committal. Borowski, who heard his first 



EARLY MINISTRY. 37 

sermon, and thought he had committed it, complimented 
him on its delivery. To that practice he uniformly ad- 
hered, and his older friend felt perfectly satisfied with 
the result during the two years that he heard the candi- 
date. Their intercourse was pleasant, edifying, and in- 
structive. Borowski was a well-informed theologian and 
had an excellent library ; both his information and lit- 
erary possessions were available to Ebel. Schonherr's 
views were known to him, for he belonged to his congre- 
gation, and, like other tendencies in philosophy and 
theology, formed part of their conversation. He loved 
Ebel as if he had been his own son, and honored him in 
various ways ; e. g., he assigned to him the morning ser- 
mon and chose the afternoon for himself, although the 
morning congregation was much the larger and attended 
by the communicants, and gave him carte blanche in the 
selection of preachers among the candidates. " I leave 
it all to you," he wrote on one occasion, "for I know 
you to be cautious, and how studiously you care both for 
the congregation and myself. You may be sure that I 
shall always gratefully acknowledge the blessed conduct 
of your work, and that my warmest prayers will follow 
you when you go to pasture your own flock." And 
after he left Konigsberg, Borowski wrote : " You have 
not only been my friend, but the kind provider of my 
pulpit and congregation. Where shall I find another 
Ebel, one that knows all the candidates, speaks kindly of 
them, and enables me to choose a proper substitute ?" 
He calls him his dear son, brother, and friend. 

Towards the close of 1806, Count Dohna, the father 
of his pupils, offered Ebel the vacant position of pastor 
at Hermsdorf, on his estates ; he thought himself alto- 
gether too young to accept so honorable and responsible 



38 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

a position, and declined it on the ground of his youth. But 
the Count insisted, and urged him to visit the church and 
conduct a service, representing that the effect of his ser- 
mon might perhaps contain a divine intimation as to what 
was his duty in the matter. So he went and did as he 
had been bidden, with the result that the congregation 
begged the Count to send them no other preachers, but 
to appoint Ebel. Under this pressure he felt bound to 
cease all opposition in the matter. He deemed it passing 
strange, when he saw the church and the country for the 
first time, that all appeared singularly familiar to him, and 
he recollected to have seen in a dream, a year before, the 
very church to which he was called. So the Count sent 
him his call in these words : " Here, my dearest Ebel, is 
the vocation which God, the Lord and Father of us all, 
sends you by my humble hand." 

When he left Konigsberg, so dear to him, he was hon- 
ored with a letter from the Magistrate, dated Decem- 
ber 2, 1806, in which his past services are gratefully 
and highly commended, accompanied by the assurance 
of sincere interest in his advantageous preferment. 

Before entering on the active work of the sacred min- 
istry his conscience prompted him to take a step which 
gave him ever afterwards the profoundest satisfaction, 
and placed him superior to any possible imputation of his 
honor. When he presented himself before the Consistory 
to take the prescribed oath on the Augsburg Confession, 
he asked the Council to tell him the sense in which the 
oath was to be construed ? Did the Consistory make the 
symbolical books or the word of God the final arbiter ? 
With one exception, it was the unhesitating decision of 
the Council that quatenus not quid was self-evident. 
"What Ebel had in his mind was the doctrine of the king- 



EARLY MINISTRY. 39 

dom of God upon earth, which the Reformers had con- 
founded with the errors of the Jews on that subject, and 
accordingly rejected in Article XVII. of the Augsburg 
Confession ; a doctrine regarded by many of the older 
and modern theologians (among the latter, e. g., Spener 
and Bengel) as founded on Holy Scripture. Ebel wanted 
to know whether the Consistory accorded to him the lib- 
erty of regarding the authority of the Bible superior to 
that of a symbolical book, so that his conscience might 
not be bound by something he did not agree with. 

The ordination of Ebel took place, November 23, 1806, 
in the Castle Church, at Konigsberg, in the presence of 
the Prussian princes ; the Rev. Dr. Hennig officiated on 
the occasion, and preached a sermon on Matt. xxiv. 35 : 
" Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall 
not pass away." 

His induction or institution had to be postponed until 
the following summer, and took place in the midst of the 
noisy clamor created by inimical troops on their return 
from Friedland. 

Although his friends and relations advised delay, Ebel 
deemed it his duty to set out, January 7, 1807, for his 
parish, situated in a section of the country on the Pas- 
sarge, which was at the time exposed to an invasion of the 
French, who had devastated the village, and actually 
pillaged the parsonage before he crossed the threshold. 
His furniture, which for the most part had been obtained 
on credit, was carried away, and the most precious of his 
possessions, his library, still on the road, was lost in the 
sack of Braunsberg. Those books, acquired under great 
difficulties, and often at the expense of other necessaries, 
were unspeakably dear to him, and their loss caused him 
much pain : still he felt that it was a providential di- 



40 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

rection designed to warn him against the danger of buy- 
ing too many books, to which thirst of knowledge was 
tempting him. But God had provided for him in some 
other way : in a wing of the castle, where he took up his 
abode, he found a well stocked library of choice works, 
which had been the property of the late Pastor Trescho, 
the teacher of Herder, and come into the possession of 
the Count. To that he had free access, and in it he 
found a large collection of very valuable works, espe- 
cially many on old theology, and rare standard authors. 
As his parsonage at Hermsdorf was unfit for occupation, 
he had at Count Dohna's instance taken quarters at 
Schlodien, from where he served not only his own parish, 
but two others besides, the pastor in the one being laid 
up with sickness, and that of the other having fled. Con- 
cerning this interesting period of Ebel's ministry, the ma- 
terial is rather scant in the shape of notices furnished by 
himself. What he said on the subject is exceedingly 
fragmentary. In one place he briefly states that though 
the war played havoc with his temporal affairs, it yielded 
him many a useful experience for life. That he could 
have written highly interesting reminiscences was well 
known to those of his acquaintance, with whom he oc- 
casionally conversed on the matter. But his own short- 
comings in that respect have been supplied by others. 

The French were scattered throughout that section of 
country in large numbers ; the Prussians and Russians 
were close by ; and sanguinary conflicts were of constant 
occurrence. A friend of Ebel, Baron Ernst von Hey- 
king, who for the purpose of writing his biography, col- 
lected and carefully drew up notices and letters, which 
have been kindly forwarded to me by Miss Adalberta 
Ebel, the surviving daughter of the subject of this book, 



EARLY MINISTRY. 41 

narrated that he told him how strangely he felt when he 
saw for the first time a body of French, drawn up with 
loaded muskets in front of the Castle of Schlodien. They 
were chasseurs whose sudden appearance filled Count 
Dohna, his family, and the whole population with terror. 
Besides the Baron, Ebel was the only person sufficiently 
versed in French to open negotiations with the enemy. 
His first duty was to provide for their entertainment, which 
was very liberal, but the haughty soldiery deliberately 
dashed the filled bottles of wine to the ground as an ex- 
pressive intimation that they were the victors, and might 
act as they pleased. The camp of the army of occupa- 
tion was only a few miles distant ; and the Count sent 
there to procure a safe-guard, whose presence it was 
thought would prevent acts of violence, and inspired all 
Schlodien with confidence. An event, however, which 
happened shortly after their arrival, showed how very 
fallacious was that imagined safety. One day there ar- 
rived suddenly a Prussian officer at the head of a small 
detachment of Prussian soldiers, with five Cossacks 
(Russians). They rushed into the castle, passed like a 
whirlwind through every room, until they found the 
Count, whom the officer accused of sympathy with the 
French, and of concealing French soldiers. Ebel inter- 
posed and succeeded in bringing the infuriated soldiers 
to reason, and preventing personal injury to the Count. 
Meanwhile the safe-guard, attempting to escape through 
the windows of the castle, were caught by the Cossacks, 
and carried away as prisoners. The Prussians likewise 
seized two French horses as spoils of war. Nobody 
doubted that the French would retaliate, take the Count 
prisoner, and set fire to Schlodien. In this difficult and 
perilous situation, Ebel advised the Count to escape 



42 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

with his family, and offered to remain for the protection 
of the property and the safety of the people. The offer 
was gratefully accepted. 

Meanwhile the Prussian officer had been wounded in 
an engagement and made prisoner awaiting transporta- 
tion to France, and the immediate consequence of the 
Prussian surprise of the French safe-guard was the arrival 
from the camp of a captain with a squadron of horse, 
roughly inquiring for the Count. Ebel told him exactly 
everything as it had occurred, and that the Count, 
deeming the safety of himself and his family imperiled 
after the safe-guard had been taken prisoners, had left for 
a more distant place of safety. In that way he corrected 
the misapprehension of the French as to a preconcerted 
collusion, and proved to them that there had been no in- 
tentional injury or offence on the part of the Count. He 
likewise tried to pacify the captain by offering him four 
picked, fine horses from the Count's stables as an indem- 
nity for the two missing ones. While this negotiation 
was going on within, the soldiers without began to ex- 
hibit tokens of displeasure that they were not allowed to 
plunder, and that their captain was incessantly talking 
with the petit abbe, as they called Ebel. The latter, aware 
that the Prussians were drawing near, tried everything in 
his power to protract the negotiation as much as possible, 
and finally succeeded in reaching an understanding with 
the captain, who was also aware of the approach of the 
Prussians, to this effect, that in the absence of Count 
Dohna he would consent, as his representative, to accom- 
pany him to camp, for the captain's instructions were to 
produce the Count at headquarters before the general in 
command. So he prepared to visit the hostile camp as 
hostage, after taking the precaution of ordering a goodly 



EARLY MINISTRY. 43 

assortment of choice wines and groceries to be stowed 
away in his sleigh, in which he left with an escort of six 
French soldiers. The present had a mollifying influence 
on the general (who had a weakness for mulled wine and 
was rejoiced to get his favorite beverage in so unexpected 
a manner), and Ebel, who presented the whole affair 
frankly and without fear, succeeded in averting the 
threatened revenge from the Count's possessions. Just 
as he was leaving the camp, a French lieutenant, who 
had been very pleasant when he saw him before at the 
castle, thrust a paper into his hand. He took it without 
reading it at the time, but discovered on the road that it 
was a passport. He had hardly read it when he heard, 
in shrill accents, the words, Qui vii? uttered by a French 
sentry, and realized the danger from which God, through 
the instrumentality of that lieutenant, had delivered him. 
He met quite a number of such sentries, who invariably 
required the production of the passport before they 
allowed him to proceed. At last he reached Schlodien 
safe and sound, and hastened to the neighboring village, 
whither the Count and the Countess had fled, to be wel- 
comed by them with tears of joy. 

His visit as hostage to the French camp is only a sam- 
ple of the great difficulties of his position during the 
passage of the French to and from Prussian Eylau and 
their winter quarters, and his voluntary exposure to so 
much danger for Count Dohna was, of course, prompted 
solely by sincere affection. Whoever came to Schlodien, 
friend or foe, transacted their business with him ; his 
youth notwithstanding, everybody sought him for coun- 
sel in unexpected and difficult emergencies, and he 
proved equal to every occasion. Understanding to touch 
the enemy on the point of honor, and using his influence 



44 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

with the embittered population to prevent haste in word 
or deed, he frequently averted plunder and mutiny from 
Schlodien and the neighborhood, delivered the poor from 
the hands of marauders, helped them, often with peril to 
himself, to recover what had been stolen from them, 
when he saw, for instance, how some, whom the French 
had deprived of their last cow, on which they depended 
for life, would rush on their bayonets to repossess them- 
selves of their property. 

He himself was on one occasion in imminent peril. A 
French marauder came one day with all sorts of unrea- 
sonable demands, which could not be granted, and were 
in part refused by the safe-guard stationed at Schlodien. 
Infuriated at the refusal and meditating revenge, the 
marauder insisted that Ebel should go with him to the 
Colonel. Without suspecting any evil design, he agreed 
to the proposal, and was on the point of leaving, when 
the safe-guard coming along and understanding the dan- 
ger, peremptorily ordered the marauder to take his in- 
stant departure on pain of being shot. That made him 
go, and Ebel learned from the safe-guard, that had he 
accompanied the marauder he would without fail have 
murdered him. 

Through his instrumentality, access to the castle and 
and its dependent buildings was rendered difficult if not 
impossible, to the stragglers of the army, noted alike for 
cupidity and destructiveness. He caused the first house 
in the village to be fitted up as a sort of free inn, where 
refreshments, solid and liquid, were always kept ready 
for any that might call, and as the village lies on one 
side of the stream and the castle on the other, the 
hospitable cheer of the traveller's home was so judi- 
ciously administered that the stragglers continued their 



EARLY MINISTRY. 45 

journey without crossing the bridge, to their own satis- 
faction and to the unspeakable relief of the sorely tried 
inhabitants of the Castle. The winter quarters likewise 
led to many difficult complications, which Ebel would 
often straighten, and his influence with the enemy was so 
great that he actually induced a general to restore to an- 
other Count Dohna the family plate, which during the 
winter quarters, having been discovered by the enemy in 
a place of safe keeping within a solid wall, had been 
taken. 

How the Dohnas would ever have fared without the 
good pastor, so energetic, judicious, kind and self-sacri- 
ficing, we cannot conjecture ; that the castle would have 
been sacked and burned, and they reduced to beggary 
cannot be doubted by any one familiar with the inci- 
dents of the war of Napoleon in Germany. Ebel proved 
a veritable Joseph to them and that whole countryside. 
When Count Dohna transmitted to Ebel his call, he 
wrote : 

" Look at your vocation, dear Christian brother. You are 
invited to be a preacher of peace in the fires of war and the 
furnace of tribulation, whose lurid flames already shed their 
light on our path, and to stay at your post. This requires 
steadfastness, and perhaps more resolution than to fly to 
arms in defence of our native land ; therefore put on the 
whole armor of God, etc." 

And after he had left Hermsdorf for another sphere 
of labor he gratefully said : 

"We shall never forget you and 1807, no more than we 
can forget to thank God for all His undeserved blessings 
when He deems it meet to deprive us of some great happi- 



46 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

ness." .... " I can never, my ever grateful heart can 
never forget, what a blessing you were to our family and 
people and countryside; we have indeed great cause to re- 
member that blessing before God, even as the godly Nehe- 
miah, in a right filial spirit, did it for himself : ' Think upon 
me, my God, for good, according to all that I have done for 
this people.' (Neh. v. 19). But enough of this in words." 

On the occasion of a vacancy on the estates of Count 
Dohna, writing to Ebel for the purpose of recommend- 
ing a fit person, the good Count used this language : 

"We turn to you, reverend friend, for a helper in war 
that may resemble you as much as possible. I know that it 
will be hard to find such an one, unless God directs us in our 
choice, . . . and my reason for addressing you in this 
matter is simply this : since God did grant us this blessing 
before we had asked Him for it, we trust that He will do it 
again now that we ask Him, and especially through your 
good offices, . . . and these our parishes could hail no 
messenger with greater joy than one recommended and sent 
by their dear Mr. Ebelchen" 

The italicized word is an untranslatable diminutive of 
endearment, used by the parishioners in token of affec- 
tion for their good pastor, who during the war was wont 
to go in and out among them as a brother and friend 
without the restraints of official intercourse. 

In the midst of the confusion and turmoil of war, Ebel, 
having lost his own team, was obliged to serve three 
parishes, for nearly a year on foot ; a hard and laborious 
work, when it is remembered that the distances were very 
considerable. At last he succeeded in buying a captured 
war-horse, which carried him daily on his round of offi- 
cial duty. He would often dispense with the official 



EARLY MINISTRY. 47 

garments when he gathered the people in some barn for 
service, because the church edifice happened to be filled 
with the enemy's material of war. There he would 
stand in their midst with words of consolation and en- 
couragement, and exhortations to fortitude, patience and 
submission. Thus the relations to his flock were cement- 
ed in love ; and the love that went out from him, returned 
in tender and touching attachment. Some of the incidents 
of that period clearly show, what some are so loth to admit, 
that after all there is in human nature an undertone of 
veneration for things divine, which even the violence and 
brutality of war are unable to quench. Those hordes of 
Napoleon, which swept with the besom of destruction 
over Europe, were brought up under influences, terrible 
to contemplate. They came from a country where 
Christianity had been officially abolished, and religion 
was ridiculed as a silly superstition, and yet their hearts 
were not wholly dead to the influence of religion, not 
wholly without respect for its ordinances. One day Ebel 
performed a baptism in a church, which the French had 
converted into a barrack ; they were drilling at the time, 
and when in the course of the service he came to the 
Lord's Prayer, the rude soldiery, in token of respect, 
presented arms while it was being offered. He had often 
opportunity to converse with French officers on serious 
themes, and he was amazed to find some, who, in spite 
of their dreadful trade and horrid education, were 
thoughtful and devout, waiting for the kingdom of 
God, and viewing the events of the period as signs and 
tokens of an approaching better time, and preparing the 
hearts of men for a more cheerful and willing reception 
of the truths of salvation. 

Decades later, Ebel would love to give expression to 



48 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

the confident and joyous expectation of meeting some of 
those French officers before the throne of God. 

The tempest of war had spent its fury in that part of 
Germany, when at the close of 1807, the enemy left the 
neighborhood of Schlodien and the Passarge. The ex- 
citing and tumultuous scenes of the occupation no longer 
distracted the mind and interfered with the work of the 
young minister. He had now the time, as he always had 
the inclination, to attend more thoroughly to the culture 
of his own soul. From a child it had been his delight- 
ful occupation to hearken to what God might reveal to 
him in his conscience, and to hold sweet converse with 
Him in prayer, and the anxieties and trials of the event- 
ful time through which he had just passed, had deep- 
ened and intensified his piety and habitual intercourse 
with God, and recourse to Him for light, and direction. 
The beautiful old hymn: Jesus, meine Liebe, lebet, had 
yielded him sweet comfort, use and direction under the 
calamities of war when he was exposed to bodily danger ; 
now that that kind of danger and trial belonged happily 
to the past, the same hymn became unspeakably precious 
to him in the spiritual comfort it gave, and the blessed 
instruction it imparted. It is certainly a most beautitul 
hymn, so rich and weighty, but withal so full of felici- 
tous turns, which are sure to be spoiled in the transla- 
tion, that I can only deplore my inability to give it in 
English dress. But for the benefit of readers familiar 
with German, a place has been made for the original in 
Appendix C. That hymn had a wonderful hold on his 
heart and mind ; it filled them day and night. No one 
may tell, because no one can know, what then transpired 
in the secret chambers of Ebel's heart, but we know that 
it was a momentous crisis in the history of his spiritual 



EARLY MINISTRY. 49 

life. It seems to have been that turning point in the 
spiritual life of man, which for want of a better term, 
may be called the antithesis or opposition of the human 
and the divine. Some theologians call it conversion, 
others regeneration ; but it is not a question of theology 
at all, it is purely one of personal feeling and experience ; 
nor is it necessary to urge its expression, for where it 
does exist, it is sure to express itself in the practice of 
Christian virtues and graces, in unostentatious holiness ; 
it is a state of the soul in which the consciousness of un- 
worthiness and of inability to conquer innate sinful pro- 
pensities rise against the high ends of the Christian voca- 
tion ; a state in which we cry out for help and light, 
write bitter things against ourselves, and struggle for a 
higher plane of life, in which God is everything and we 
are nothing, in which grace accomplishes what native 
strength is unable to achieve, in which we fling aside 
every notion of self-righteousness, and feel irresistibly 
impelled by the Divine Spirit to count all things but loss 
that we may win Christ, and learn in the school of Christ 
to advance from strength to strength, to the triumphant 
faith of St. Paul, which made him exclaim : "I can do 
all things through Christ that strengtheneth us." 

Through that crisis Ebel appears to have passed im- 
mediately after the war, and he came out of the great 
struggle more thoroughly equipped for a ministry of self- 
sacrifice, devotion and personal holiness, more enthusi- 
astically consecrated to the service of God. 

Although profoundly convinced of the reality of Di- 
vine grace in his own soul, and ineffably happy in the 
consciousness thereof, Ebel never urged or insisted that 
the work of grace must manifest itself in the same way 
in others. His knowledge of human nature, his knowl- 
3 



50 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

edge of the wonderful and various workings of the mani- 
fold grace of God, and his strong, good common sense, 
prevented him from falling into such an error. For error 
it is, and a mischievous one, to induce others to express 
that which possibly they do not feel ; or to describe as 
an operation of the Divine Spirit what, after all, happens 
frequently to be only a transient emotion, not a perma- 
nent change of direction and disposition. Ebel's course, 
in this respect, appears to have been singularly judicious ; 
he trembled to demand in others what he felt he had no 
right to demand, or to map out or indicate the way in 
which grace must operate ; he left all that in the hands 
of God, who in His several dealings with men could re- 
new what was decayed, when and where it might seem to 
Him good. Not that he did not insist upon the ne- 
cessity of growth in grace, but that he felt that the prog- 
ress to perfection must be mainly the work of God in the 
renovation of our spiritual nature, and a corresponding, 
incessant, and faithful responsibility on our part. That 
awakening and state of heart our Lord and His apostles 
appear to designate in the use of the word perfect (cf. St. 
Matt, v., Phil, hi., Col. i.), and as to the passage : "Be 
ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in 
Heaven is perfect," he admitted it in its full and pregnant 
sense of importing continuous growth and development, 
to the exclusion of everything that savoured of self-suf- 
ficiency. He held that Scripture teaches what the older 
theologians, e. g. Rieger,* tersely lay down : 

" A whole Christian cannot always remain a dwarf or a 
babe ; he must grow and expand into maturity, into proper 
age, measure, and stature ; from being a disciple he must 

*Setmons, pp. 654, 657, sq. 



EARLY MINISTRY. 5 I 

become perfect as his Master (St. Luke, vi. 40), or St. Matt. 
v. 48, has it still more explicitly : ' Be ye therefore perfect, even 
as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.' Now he is 
perfect who has all the requisite qualifications of the Christian 
character. He that has some virtues, but not all, is not a 
true Christian, but an anomaly .and a cripple." "What 
would it avail if some one thinks that his inner man, his heart 
and soul, belong to God, but that his body in its senses and 
members, is subject to sin ? Or, reversing the case, what does 
it avail a man to turn his outward life, his eyes, his speech, 
and his works in the direction of what is good, while his mind 
is alienated from God, and addicted to sinful and unholy 
pleasures and pursuits ? Perhaps some one will say, How is 
this possible ? Who could be a Christian in such a case ? 
Who is able to attain a degree of perfection in which he is 
deficient in nothing ? Perfection belongs to life eternal. Well, 
I answer, that no one is justified in murmuring against the 
will and purpose of God, which only contemplates our full 
restoration from the fall. Do we not prefer in the lower 
stage of physical existence a whole man to a cripple ? But 
care must be had to distinguish between things that differ. 
It is emphatically the purpose of Gospel teaching to conduct 
the souls of men to the proper measure of perfect manhood 
(Eph. iv. 13, in the Greek) ; and St. Paul accordingly not 
only desired his hearers to attain to perfection, not only ex- 
horted them to be perfect, but he strove with all his might to 
conduct them to perfection, saying: 'Whom we preach, 
warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom 
that he may present every man perfect in Christ.' " (Col. i. 
28, 29). 

That is Ebel's view of perfection, as he used to present 
it. The distinction which experience taught him to draw 
between being awakened and being awake began to take 
shape in his mind at a comparatively early date. A friend 
wrote on the subject as follows : 



52 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

" Awakened are those who, influenced by the Holy Ghost, 
do not resist Him. But the Spirit of God is shed abroad 
everywhere, and is operative to the ends of the world ; it is 
the will of God, moreover, that the Saviour should be pre- 
sented to the whole world, ' that whosoever believeth in Him 
should not perish, but have eternal life.' Such being the ex- 
pressed will of God, who can doubt that the merciful pro- 
visions of the New Covenant are intended to apply to the 
whole human family ? And as every member of that family 
is born in sin, bound in the sleep and death of sin, does it 
not follow that each and all are able to be roused and wak- 
ened from that sleep and death ? And that is clearly stated 
to be the work of the Holy Spirit (i Cor. xii. 6 sqq.). As 
applied to the kingdom of God, it is necessary to remember 
that it is to be established and built up, not all at once, but 
gradually, by men that suffer themselves to be influenced by 
the operations of that Spirit in perfect consciousness, and, as 
the children and friends of God, cheerfully respond by ready 
acquiescence in the gracious purpose of God, surrendering 
their will to God's, so that their will grows up with and 
thoroughly interblends with God's. Where that condition 
prevails, the subjects are not only awakened, but awakej 
roused, awakened out of sleep into a state of consciousness, 
they are convinced of the necessity to persevere in vigilance 
and prayer, in the struggle with sin and the exercise of love. 
They are awake.'''' 

It is clear that men may be awakened without being 
awake ; they may be roused from the sleep of their 
natural state, but not to full consciousness, and so turn 
round, as it were, to the other side, either in the partial 
change of their inclinations, or in an exchange of their 
old resting-place for a new one under the cross of Christ, 
burdening Him with their sins, and sleeping sounder 
than ever before, in the conceit that perfection is out 
of the question here and belongs to the other world. To 



EARLY MINISTRY. 53 

correct that error and expose its fallacy, Ebel insisted 
upon the necessity of repentance, not only on the part of 
unconverted, ungodly men, but also on the part of Chris- 
tians ; he urged daily repentance, incessant watchfulness, 
keeping the conscience alive through self-examination 
and self-condemnation, holding it essential to the main- 
tenance of a Christian life and to growth in grace and 
virtue that we must judge ourselves, and allow ourselves 
to be judged and exhorted. He agreed with Rieger (/. c> 
p. 639), that ignorance, and, what is even worse than 
ignorance, the failure and omission of repentance, are 
the great stumbling-block in the way of growth in grace 
and holiness ; that Christians must daily repent. To 
rely on faith alone and to continue in the practice of 
evil, or in the disinclination to do good, he deemed 
perilous and wicked ; good works he described as goodly 
fruit growing on the good tree of faith naturally, /. e., 
agreeably to the nature of the tree. Faith gives us a 
place in Christ, and through faith Christ dwells in our 
heart. Christians, then, conforming to the example and 
sharing the nature of Christ, must needs forswear and 
abandon all connection with a wicked world, the works 
of darkness, with sin and its progeny of wickedness. 

The seeming paradox of St. Paul, " When I am weak 
then am I strong" (2 Cor. xii. 10), has been a great 
comfort to truly devout and humble Christians ever since 
he penned it. Its profound and cheering truth certainly 
did not escape Ebel, who ever drew comfort from the 
thought that the consciousness and conviction of per- 
sonal sinfulness is an indispensable concomitant of true 
faith, and the secret spring of strength derived from 
God. God, by His Spirit, convinces us of our sinful- 
ness and nothingness without Him ; he lays us low, not 



54 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

to crush, but to exalt us to the highest dignity, that He 
may be all in all ; and that conviction genders joy, that 
rejoicing in the Lord of which the same Apostle testifies 
in another place, and that joy in the Lord is distinctive 
ofEbel* 

As this very important subject has been admirably 
delineated by him in works not readily accessible to the 
general reader, this seems to be the proper place for the 
reproduction of several passages. In the first, f refer- 
ence is made to the mind of a Christian in its relation to 
God, as distinguished from the natural, unrenewed mind 
of one still estranged from Him ; the spiritual frame of 
mind in which the divine holds the human in subjection, 
and the language runs thus : 

" In this frame of mind man is wont to grow oblivious of 
whatever relates to himself, and to abandon himself with all 
his corruption and misery to a merciful God, who, as it were, 
receives him in His gracious arms, expecting help and salva- 
tion from Him and Him alone, accepting all as the gift of 
His Love and Grace, and, as he is being changed into the 
image of Christ, ascribing the honor and praise to God alone. 
But be it remembered, that this involves that man (/. e. the 
strictly human in us) die with Christ, and rise with Him 
from the dead, that he is planted with Him in the likeness of 
His death, to be so in the likeness of His resurrection." 

No one that reads thoughtfully the words of St. Paul, 
and follows the chain of his reasoning in that wonderful 

* For an expansion of the thought reference is made to his vol- 
ume of sermons called Die Weisheit von Oben (Wisdom from Above), 
2d ed., Basel and Ludwigsburg, 1S68, from which a sermon on the 
subject is given in Appendix A. 

f Verstand und Vertiunft, 2d part, pp. 153, 159. 



EARLY MINISTRY. 55 

Epistle to the Romans, can resist the conviction that the 
words " It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen 
again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also 
maketh intercession for us " (viii. 34) are the signal of 
Christian triumph and exultation. And no one can be 
said to have realized his status as a Christian, who can 
not from the depths of his own consciousness blend his 
voice with St. Paul's : " Nay in all these things we are 
more than conquerors through Him that loved us ; for I 
am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor 
principalities, nor things present nor things to come, nor 
height nor depth, nor any other created thing shall be 
able to separate us for a moment (xaopiGai) from God's 
love manifested towards us in Christ Jesus our Lord " 
(vv. 37-39). It is to this rapture of joy, this exultation 
of victorious faith that Ebel refers when he concludes 
that there is a joy, an undimmed, victorious joy over the 
nearness of God, a delightful sense of dependence, but 
yet of progress in spite of difficulties, and of growth in 
spite of hinderances, which springs from the testimony of 
a good conscience, i. e. the certain assurance of Divine 
Mercy and the consequent enjoyment of peace. " This 
frame of mind," he says, "is the inevitable fruit of a 
heart confirmed in the grace of Christ by means of knowl- 
edge and experience ; it is the kingdom of God within 
us, the joy in the Holy Ghost springing from tl;e con- 
sciousness of justification before God and of peace in 
Him ; and the renewing and transfoiming power of that 
joy bears upon and interpenetrates the whole texture of 
our inner and outer life in all our relations to ourselves 
and others, to fellow Christians and others, to friend and 
foe, to high and low, to rich or poor, in joy and in 
sorrow, in living and dying, for our strength is joy in 



56 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

the Lord." And in another place * he exclaims : " Chris- 
tians have been traduced as melancholy people ; I know- 
not any more cheerful and joyous ; they live under a 
merciful God, and carry a good conscience in a body 
pure and undefiled by the lusts of the flesh, they are sur- 
rounded by the countless good gifts of the divine bounty, 
which they daily and richly enjoy, and they look for 
the life of the world to come. None of these things, or 
only very few of them, are enjoyed by those who are 
not Christians. For this reason joy sparkles in the 
Christian's eye, and the peace of heaven irradiates and 
interpenetrates the whole texture of his existence." 

After these references to his inner life, and methods 
of presenting the doctrines of salvation, we return to his 
outward relations. 

The parsonage was put in order, and fitted up : and 
in order to lessen the burdens of his father, he brought 
three of the other children to Hermsdorf and began his 
own domestic life, August 8, 1808. 

In the parish he was indefatigable. The services were 
well attended ; strictly devotional gatherings answering 
to prayer-meetings he did not encourage, because he 
considered them calculated to foster a very undesirable 
spirit of exclusiveness, engendering prejudice and tend- 
ing to a species of Pharisaism. But he counted among 
his parishioners truly devout people, whom his sermons 
had rendered thoroughly awake, and who of their own 
accord would come to him for guidance and direction. 
And as they came to see him, so he would visit them in 
their own homes ; in cases of sickness he was unremit- 
ting in his ministrations ; he took a constant interest in 

* Tages-Anbruchy p. 159. 



EARLY MINISTRY. 57 

the schools, and in these and many other ways was able 
to foster a truly religious spirit in all the practical forms 
of vital Christianity. There was a wholesome nucleus in 
the parish ever gathering strength and diffusing itself in 
every direction. * 

The study of the rich hymnology of the German lan- 
guage engaged much of his time at Hermsdorf. He 
loved to commit many of those beautiful hymns to mem- 
ory, and to appropriate the practical and spiritual in- 
struction they afford. These hymns are the productions 
of some of the most thoughtful and excellent men, and 
are animated by an element of practical piety, very de- 
sirable to be cultivated by all Christians, but especially 
by ministers, who thus acquire, among other benefits, a 
readiness to make proper choice of hymns in harmony 
with the sermon and the scriptural lessons. Ebel ex- 
celled in that way, and loved, moreover, to associate 
hymns with every event of his life. The importance of 
the study of hymnology as a most valuable factor in the 
private and public devotions of Christians can hardly be 
exaggerated. 

The visitation of the schools absorbed much of his 
time. Aware of their vast importance he studiously 
tried to make his influence tell in personal intercourse 
with the children, through whom he reached of course 
their parents. He was a great favorite with the chil- 
dren, whom he encouraged in their studies by trifling 
presents tendered by way of reward to those deserving 
such distinction on account of fidelity, studiousness and 
good conduct. 

Opinion is divided on that subject, some holding that 
the acquisition of knowledge should be the highest aim 
and greatest reward of youth. That may be true as a 



58 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

beautiful theory in a scholastic commonwealth of perfect 
children. But youth in most schools is anything but 
perfect, and it is by no means uncommon, that the dis- 
position of the pupils gives teachers far less trouble than 
unreasonable and injudicious influences pervading their 
homes. Rewards in the shape of prizes, judiciously and 
impartially awarded to the most meritorious pupils are 
generally advantageous to the morale of the school and 
beneficial to teachers and taught ; they work thus in the 
conduct of the family, they are so regarded in our best 
colleges and universities, and they have precisely the 
same effect in well administered schools of lower grades ; 
they are even commendable on much higher ground as 
the recognition of the procedure of rewards and pun- 
ishments revealed in Holy Scripture as part of God's 
moral government of the world. 

Ebel's system of catechization was also most excellent. 
He did not confine himself to questions addressed to 
candidates for confirmation, or the recently confirmed 
from the chancel, but would go from pew to- pew and 
address young and old alike. He revived the practice 
of Spener, to make a lecture or a sermon a topic for 
expanded instruction, or even of discussion after the 
service. To this end he got some of the more gifted 
youth to write down his discourse in the organ gallery ; 
and began with interrogating them and others on the 
subject in hand ; questions would be put by others, re- 
vealing the actual difficulties and wants of his parishion- 
ers, and enabling him in an informal but thoroughly 
practical way to reach the hearts of his hearers and to 
influence their life. Nor did he confine his catechiza- 
tions to church, but would visit the catechumens in their 
own homes, instruct and question them in the presence 



EARLY MINISTRY. 59 

of their friends, and try to diffuse information on all 
matters relating to education and to topics of general 
interest. He would sometimes share their meals, and in 
that way he did much good, as it enabled him to com- 
pose many a difficulty, and to solve many a hard prob- 
lem. 

In order to diffuse the knowledge of the Bible he 
revived a week-day service, which had fallen into desue- 
tude. It was a sort of Bible class at which he would 
explain different portions of the Holy Scriptures, and 
encouraged school-children to attend ; and as their par- 
ents often accompanied them, he found means to interest 
them all. The beautiful hymns to which reference has 
already been made were also drawn into the course of 
instruction ; appropriate selection of those bearing on 
the particular subject in hand having been made, the 
lessons or sentiments they embodied would be pointed 
out, and the young people encouraged and recommended 
to learn them by heart. So there grew speedily around 
him a chosen circle of devoted friends, young and old, 
but especially of catechumens, on whom he bestowed 
the utmost care, and who constituted, as it were, a cen- 
tre of devotion for the whole parish. The catechumens 
were encouraged to maintain familiar intercourse with 
their pastor after confirmation, and he set apart special 
days on which he would always be at home to see and 
confer with them on all matters they might wish to bring 
under his notice. His method resembled that of one of 
his predecessors, mentioned by the Rev. Sebastian Fred- 
eric Trescho, who in a volume called " Religiose Nebe7i- 
stunden " * (Religious By-Hours), develops the idea of 

* Danzig, 1777. 



60 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

keeping up permanent intercourse with the confirmed, 
and indicates the means for doing so. Ebel found his 
counsel in this and many other respects exceedingly 
valuable. 

As this subject is one of the highest importance, and 
engages the thoughtful and anxious attention of many 
ministers, who (although the circumstances are altogether 
different both in England and America) find it a problem 
of difficult solution ; the plan pursued by Ebel may pos- 
sibly suggest some useful hints, and on that account will 
be perused with interest. 

His first care was that they should not forget what 
they had learnt ; he therefore reviewed the whole ground 
of their instruction, dwelling more particularly on neg- 
lected portions, and supplemented additional matter 
tending to deepen and, as it were, to stereotype the 
whole by constant reference to Holy Scripture ; he gave 
special prominence to Bible History, and recommended 
the committal of golden texts and passages, as well as oi 
the best hymns in their collections. He urged self- 
examination, giving them proper instruction to enable 
them to distinguish the springs of motive, and the tend- 
encies of perverse or corrupt inclinations ; he explained 
the bearing of duty on their changing relations, and its 
application to practice, showing them that as Christians 
they should strive to connect their religion with every 
possible situation of life ; he spoke to them about choice 
of occupation and domestic relations ; about work, ser- 
vice, management, etc., availing himself of every oppor- 
tunity to place before them nature as the work of God, 
setting forth His wisdom and goodness in the vast oper- 
ations of the universe no less than in the smallest occur- 
rences and changes of their daily observation. He 



EARLY MINISTRY. 6l 

likewise illustrated to them from a Christian point of 
view the constitution, privileges and duties of society. 
He urged the necessity of worship and explained its 
design, commending attention to the preached word, and 
above all things the importance of prayer, and the cul- 
ture of personal relations to the Saviour. He sought 
to instil into their hearts the friendship of Jesus,* to 
encourage them to mutual friendship ; explaining the 
offices of true friendship in the kind and frank inter- 
change of confidences, especially those that would tend 
to their common improvement, telling each other their 
faults, praying each for the other ; he would make in- 
quiries after the welfare of their acquaintance, and in 
that way give a practical turn to his instructions. Thus 
he led them step by step from the narrow sphere of their 
immediate surroundings to wider and widening ranges 
of thought and aim, dwelling on matters relating to the 
welfare of their country, the upbuilding of the kingdom 
of God, and Christian and philanthropic agencies, such 
as missions, the circulation of the Bible, and works of 
charity and general interest. 

While Ebel was thus working indefatigably among his 
parishioners at Hermsdorf, and exerting himself to the 
very best of his ability to promote the noblest and high- 
est interests of his rural flock, he received (in 1809) a 
communication from the bureau of the provincial gov- 
ernment at Konigsberg, charged with the supervision of 
ecclesiastical and scholastic affairs, known technically as 



* The collection of sermons, published in a volume, called "Die 
Treue" (Fidelity), Konigsberg, 1835 ; 2d edition, Basel and Lud- 
wigsberg, 1863, contains a beautiful discourse on " Friendship with 
Jesus," with particular reference to St. John, xv. 15. 



62 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

" the Ecclesiastical and Scholastic Deputation," inquir- 
ing " if it were true, as they had heard, that he was an 
adherent of Schonherr, and, if so, how he could reconcile 
the opinions of Schonherr with the doctrinal teaching 
of the Evangelical Lutheran Church ? " This was the 
first signal of an almost interminable persecution. Ebel 
received it as such from the start, and, as the event 
showed, he took a correct view. Ebel was at Herms- 
dorf, and Schonherr lived at Konigsberg. If all the 
Deputation wanted to know had been to learn how 
Schonherr's views could be harmonized with the dogmas 
of the Lutheran Church, they need not have written to 
Hermsdorf, but might have availed themselves of the 
offer of Schonherr to subject his opinions to a strictly 
scientific official examination. But they did not accede 
to his proposition, even to taking official notice of his 
request. The fact was that Schonherr, and his strong 
biblical bias, and all that shared it, were obnoxious and 
hateful to a body of men who did not receive the Bible 
as the Word of God. Schonherr, as a private citizen, was 
beyond the pale of their official jurisdiction, but Ebel, 
as a minister, was within it, and therefore they began 
with him. 

As Ebel held the views of Schonherr as private opin- 
ions, just as he might have held those of some ancient 
philosopher on some other matter, it is evident that the 
Deputation went considerably beyond their province, 
which was purely supervisory in things pertaining to his 
official ministrations ; neither they, nor any other author- 
ity, were empowered to institute inquiries violating the 
liberty of conscience. Their inquiry, moreover, was not 
addressed to Ebel alone ; it had likewise been sent to his 
superintendent (a functionary with powers somewhat 



EARLY MINISTRY. 63 

analogous to those of a bishop), who, though far from 
coinciding with Ebel's philosophical views, stated in his 
reply that " Ebel was very zealous in the good cause, 
conscientious in everything, and especially in not teach- 
ing anything but what an Evangelical Lutheran minister 
was bound to teach." 

Ebel, for his part, stated that he was a personal friend, 
not an adherent, of Schonherr, whose philosophical prin- 
ciple he had thoroughly examined, and found it at once 
agreeable to reason and the teaching of Holy Scripture, 
adding that he was ready, should they desire it, to estab- 
lish by scriptural warranty any proposition contained in 
Schonherr's works they might wish to submit. 

But the Deputation had no such desire, and, as they 
could not push the matter any further just then, they 
allowed it for a while to "lie on the table." 

In order that the reader may understand what will 
presently engage his attention, it is necessary for him to 
know certain characteristics of Konigsberg as the seat of 
a university and of the provincial government. Society 
there fifty or sixty years ago was utterly unlike anything 
to be found outside of Germany ; neither England nor 
the North American Union have anything at all compar- 
able to it. The provincial governor, as the highest 
representative of the crown, led in all matters pertaining 
to civic administration, and the vast army of civic offi- 
cers constituted one element of society ; the military, for 
Konigsberg had a garrison, formed a second ; and the 
university, with the higher clergy, composed the third. 
The government at that time was still absolute, and the 
civil administration, including justice, more or less pri- 
vate, hedged in by precedents and red tape well nigh 
incomprehensible to those familiar only with the simpler 



64 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

forms prevailing in the United States, and a narrow, 
bureaucratic spirit was as common in the State as in the 
Church. The Church was the Evangelical Lutheran 
Church, administered by a local Consistory under the 
civil direction of the provincial governor (Ober-Prdsi- 
denl), and the ecclesiastical supervision of a superintend- 
ent-general, who sometimes bears the title of bishop, 
the supreme direction of the whole belonging to the resort 
of a minister at Berlin. The term evangelical denotes not 
a peculiar theological direction, but designates Protes- 
tant ; e. g., the ministers at Konigsberg were members of 
the Evangelical Lutheran Church, but the theological 
bias of the greater number was not what we call evan- 
gelical, understanding by that term the reception of the 
Bible as God-inspired, the divinity of our Lord, and con- 
formity of the lives of men to the precepts of the Gospel, 
but ran in the direction of rationalism and neology. 

Schonherr and Ebel were strictly evangelical in the 
modern acceptation of the term, and on that account 
odious to the ecclesiastical authority, which resented 
overtly where it could, and covertly where open opposi- 
tion was impracticable or impolitic, a system of teaching 
which shed so unenviable a light on that which they set 
forth. 

In 1810 the institution called Frederic College was 
changed into a gymnasium ; an endowed church being 
connected with it, the managers were casting about for a 
fit person to discharge simultaneously the duties of pro- 
fessor and preacher. An old friend of Ebel, State Coun- 
cillor Nicolovius, hearing of the vacancy, wrote to him 
on the subject with the request to apply for it. The 
position was just what he was longing for. All his family 
lived at Konigsberg ; he had there an extended circle of 



EARLY MINISTRY. 65 

personal friends and the intellectual resources at the 
university with its splendid library presented strong at- 
tractions, and the vacant position, should it be tendered 
him, would rid him of the working of the glebe at Herms- 
dorf, for which he had little aptitude. The question of 
emoluments had nothing to do with the matter ; his 
friend Count Dohna offered him at this juncture a. 
country-cure of double the income of that attached to 
the vacancy at Konigsberg, and with half the work, but 
he refused it. Pecuniary considerations did not move 
him one way or the other : his wants were few, and he 
had been schooled and brought up in frugality and self- 
denial : he acted on higher and nobler impulses. The 
question he revolved in his own mind was, where might 
he do most good, where best fulfil the work which God 
had given him to do, what was the will of God in the 
matter ? To Him he referred the decision in prayer, 
and clear in his own mind as to his duty, he saw in the 
communications he had received an intimation to make 
formal application for the vacancy at Konigsberg. That 
had to be done according to prescript rule and prece- 
dent. He knew there were difficulties in the way, but 
difficulties never deter men of his stamp. God would 
clear them out of the way, if the way was of God's ap- 
pointment ; under the dominant influence of that con- 
viction he would progress, heedless of difficulties, in 
spite of hindrances, obstacles or opposition. He felt, in 
fact, he knew for certain, that he had enemies, who 
would leave no stone unturned to thwart his purpose. 
The hostile movement against Schonherr, and the at- 
tempted action of the Deputation against himself as the 
friend of Schonherr convinced him that his appointment 
would be strongly opposed, and all sorts of official chi- 



66 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

canery would be liberally meted out to him. Though 
he had already filled very creditably the post of collabo- 
rator at another gymnasium in 1804, and given abundant 
proof of his aptness to teach, the Deputation fully com- 
petent under the circumstances to relieve him from a 
second examination, required him at very brief notice, 
precluding anything like preparation for it, to appear 
before an examining committee, composed of theologians, 
professors in theology, and pedagogues, for the purpose 
of being examined by them. This was an official in- 
timation that there were breakers ahead ; unofficially he 
was informed that the examination would not be con- 
fined to his intellectual and scientific attainments, but 
extended to the specific investigation of his philosophi- 
cal views. The president of the committee said to him 
in a letter : " You are a truth-loving man, and therefore 
will not object to avow your opinions ; but such avowal 
may possibly interfere with the accomplishment of your 
purpose, etc." He knew all this, but committing the issue 
to God, set out for Konigsberg, and presented himself 
before the commission, passed a brilliant examination, 
and having been found possessed of an excellent judg- 
ment and superior attainments, was appointed preacher, 
and teacher of Religion, History and Hebrew in Frederic 
College, Sept. 1, 18 10. The report of the committee 
presented to the Deputation says on the vexed subject of 
his supposed heretical or sectarian views, " that while his 
eminent qualifications for the vacant position are unmis- 
takable, he showed no inclination in the direction of 
mystical irrational enthusiasm, and as to his peculiar 
ideas of the Nature of the Godhead they belonged alto- 
gether to the dry field of idle metaphysics ; " and again 
as to his general qualifications, as exhibited in a trial-les- 



EARLY MINISTRY. 67 

son : " Ebel displayed knowledge, tact and judgment ; he 
had a peculiar way in dealing with young men, and quite 
another in the handling of the boys ; but both were very 
judicious. There was not the faintest trace in anything 
he said of mysticism, or opinions conflicting with Protes- 
tant doctrine." The official notification of his appoint- 
ment was nevertheless accompanied by a caution to the 
effect, " that whereas his connection with Schonherr had 
impressed part of the public with an unfavorable opinion 
concerning himself, he was requested to avoid everything 
calculated to sustain that unfavorable opinion." The 
public referred to consisted, as the event showed, and as 
Ebel had early divined, of a very small part of the 
public indeed, for it embraced only clerical members of 
the very body clothed with the appointing power. 

On the day set apart for the formal opening of Frederic 
College under its new constitution, Ebel was solemnly 
instituted by the Consistorial Councillor Krause, who 
spoke in the highest terms of his eminent qualifications 
for the ministerial office, which he illustrated by details 
carefully drawn from his past activity. 

His new appointment entailed of course the inevitable 
separation from his rural cure, where he had so faithfully 
and beneficially labored during the sad and trying years 
of the war. He preached his farewell sermon on Sexa- 
gesima Sunday, 181 1, based on the Gospel for the day 
(St. Luke, viii. 4 sqq.), reviewing his work among them, 
and inquiring how much of the good seed God had sowed 
in their midst, and what would be the yield to Him. It 
was a sad and sorrowful parting ; but it was God's will, 
and tears shed by eyes that were gladdened by his pres- 
ence, and warm, earnest, affectionate commendations to 
the guardian care of God accompanied him. 



68 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

There had been much in his ministry at Hermsdorf to 
try his mettle ; but as it had been wholesome to others, 
so had it been beneficial to himself, trying, schooling, 
fitting him for future usefulness. Taken altogether, that 
rural change had brought him more of felicity than of 
trial ; it was there that he matured in spiritual fortitude 
and progressed towards a higher measure of spiritual 
manhood, and next to all the benefits which God dealt 
out to him in graces, He gave him at Hermsdorf perhaps 
the greatest blessing of his life, a lovely, virtuous maiden, 
Augusta Leinweber, the eldest daughter of the burgess 
of the neighboring village of Quittainen, whom he mar- 
ried in 1811. Their union was truly in the Lord, for the 
blooming bride of twenty- one summers was devout and 
God-fearing, and every way a helpmeet for him ; he 
received her as sent by God, and a blessing she proved 
to him, from that day forward, in weal and in woe, in 
sickness and health, till death did them part for a time. 
And as he received her, so she received him, and so did 
her father, rejoicing and grateful that a man of God 
should have wooed and married his child. 

Ebel was not a narrow-minded man ; but like all 
true Christians that rise above bare external and hu- 
man considerations to the contemplation of the divine 
element in the church, he was in the highest acceptation 
of the term, catholic. Now what does that much abused 
term designate if it does not mean the love of the breth- 
ren, not only of those belonging to that particular branch 
or subdivision of the church with which w r e may happen 
to be identified by birth, association, choice, or convic- 
tion, but of all who, though differing with us as to forms 
or modes of worship, as to certain tenets even, agree 
with us in the love of Jesus, and strive, as far as they 



EARLY MINISTRY. 69 

know or are able, to keep his sayings. That was the 
mark of Ebel's catholicity, even at that early period of 
his ministry. Where the heart is right, and the life is 
right, we can all afford to be charitable on points of doc- 
trine, and agree to differ. He had made the acquaintance 
of some excellent people attached to the principles of 
Gichtel ; their intercourse was marked by mutual forbear- 
ance ; they had no reluctance to avow their sentiments to 
him, and he frankly owned his sympathy with the views* 
of Schonherr. Their differences were frequently dis- 
cussed, orally and in writing, but as they were equally 
strong in their convictions and unable to relinquish them, 
the differences were compromised in the only true and 
satisfactory way of an agreement to differ. This mutual 
forbearance and kindliness bore good fruit in the unin- 
terrupted continuance of a life-long friendship ; and when 
after the lapse of years of separation Ebel sent to one of 
his Gichtelian friends a volume of his sermons as a token 
of esteem, he acknowledged the act in these words : 

" We thank you cordially for the communication of your 
evangelical homilies, blossoms of your heart and mind, fruits 
of devout occupation in the closet, and thank God, faithful 
commentaries of your walk as a Christian, and a teacher of 
the people ; we thank you sincerely for the gift, and intend 
to use it as you desire. . . . When you, reverend friend, 
revisit our country, you will have occasion to hear more of 
our affairs. Though our views differ, there shall be no ob- 
stacles in our hearts, or on our lips to the common love of 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. The blind world may 
enroll both of us in its almanac of heretics ; it only stamps us 
with the marks of Him whose we are, and whom we serve, 
each to the best of his ability and knowledge." 



CHAPTER III. 



FREDERIC COLLEGE. 



The position at Frederic College was not a sinecure ; 
it brought work incessant and diversified. From eighteen 
to twenty weekly recitations at school, pulpit preparation, 
and private lessons at home to several young people, con- 
stituted the round of his duties. In order to promote the 
education of relatives, and of several friends, he assumed 
the additional burden of their care. But whoever came 
into his home had to submit to the laws which governed 
its conduct, and as those laws were good and wise, they 
conduced to the welfare of all concerned. 

As a teacher he was peculiarly successful. Absolute 
mastery of his subject, and independence of text-books, 
coupled with clearness of statement, and fluency of utter- 
ance, excited the profoundest interest of his hearers, and 
made especially his treatment of history very effective. 
Broad in his views, and skilful in the delineation of char- 
acter, he imparted life-like reality to the great personages 
of profane and sacred history, and his manner of portray- 
ing the heroes of the Old Testament impressed the large 
number of Jewish pupils who attended the college very 
favorably and drew their confidence and affection. 

He had joined the Pedagogical Society, and in 1814 
delivered a lecture on "Religious Instruction in Gym- 

70 



FREDERIC COLLEGE. /I 

nasia," which was favorably received by his large au- 
dience composed of experienced schoolmen, among them 
the celebrated Herbart, well known as a profound thinker 
and founder of a system of philosophy. The principles, 
developed at length in a subsequent publication,* were 
recognized as judicious and sound. 

Into this period falls the production of a Spruchsamm- 
lung, or Collection of Texts, designed to serve as a guide 
to systematic religious instruction for youth. It is called 
in German a Leading Line (Leitfaden), and answers the 
purpose admirably. It is constructed on the principle 
of gathering under leading heads passages of Scripture 
illustrating them ; e. g., the leading thought, printed in 
large type, is the passage, Obey your Teachers, and 
under it follow, in small type, at full length, Hebr. xiii. 
17 ; 1 Thess. v. 12, 13 ; Heb. xiii. 7 ; Lev. xix. 32 ; 
Coloss. iii. 21 ; Rom. xiii. 1, 7 ; Coloss. iv. 1. In the 
hand of a judicious teacher such a collocation of pas- 
sages becomes very suggestive, and, as explained to 
children, tends to connect different portions of the Word 
of God by association. The little volume covers the 
whole ground of practical religion, embodies Luther's 
Lesser Catechism, and gives in a supplement the prin- 
ciples of Christianity. The Spmchsainnilung met a 
real want, and has been widely introduced throughout 
Germany. In 1842 it had already reached a sixth 
dition. 

A question of considerable importance and difficulty 
had to be solved in connection with the attendance of the 
pupils at church. Was it preferable to provide for them 
a special service, or to allow them to frequent the general 

* Ueber gedeihliche Erziekung, Hamburg, 1825. 



72 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

service ? The former plan had been adopted by the 
promoters of new ideas and carried to extremes of almost 
incredible absurdity ; they had provided sermons on 
agriculture and secular topics, and extended their mania 
of specializing even to vaccination. Ebel put a stop to 
such nonsensical irreverence, and returned to the good 
old plan of providing one service for young and old 
alike, and struck the right note in advocating freedom of 
choice, requiring the students to attend service some- 
where, but leaving the choice of the particular church 
to themselves. The effect of his ruling was highly grati- 
fying, for, as he was a very attractive and interesting 
preacher, the majority frequented the College Church. 
His choice of topics was judicious and striking. Here 
are two or three : " The Coming of Christ Brings Joy," 
" Cheerfulness in the Discharge of Duty," " The Uses of 
Bad Examples," etc. It was his rule, as teacher of relig- 
ion, during the week, to question the pupils on the ser- 
mon they had heard, and to enforce the lessons it had 
taught ; the older pupils were required to write essays on 
them. The religious recitations became as popular at 
Frederic College as they had been at the Old Town 
Gymnasium, and their impressions, in many instances, 
deepened into abiding conviction. The whole college 
assembled daily at church before the recitations began. 
At this Morning Prayer Ebel would select striking 
situations from the lives of Bible characters, sketch 
them rapidly and pointedly, accompanied by practical 
reflections designed to touch the hearts and quicken the 
thoughts of his youthful audience to follow the good 
examples held up for their admiration. These brief 
addresses were concluded with prayer. Then school 
work began. His relations to the pupils were delightful ; 



FREDERIC COLLEGE. 73 

the younger looked up to him as to a father, the older 
loved him as a brother and friend. Through the pupils 
he gained the confidence, esteem, and affection of their 
parents. But his very success in all these respects was 
insufficient to overcome the invincible prejudice with 
which his theological opponents watched his doings, and 
sought to undermine his influence by the insinuation of 
separatistic teaching. Tavo of their number carried the 
matter so far that they forbade their boys to frequent the 
religious recitations, but, as the boys remained in the 
school, the opposition did not gather the strength they 
had expected. 

The College Chapel was rather small, and its diminu- 
tive proportions were the theme of ridicule to deter peo- 
ple from going there. True, it was not as large as some 
of the other churches of Konigsberg, but it was crowded, 
and the worshippers made its appearance more worthy by 
providing chandeliers and decorating the chancel with 
appropriate ornaments. Outsiders, attracted by the vital 
truths so earnestly and eloquently set forth by Ebel, 
came in such numbers that the scant accommodation of 
the chapel was altogether inadequate, and the adjacent 
school-rooms had to be opened for their use. Nor is it 
at all difficult to explain the phenomenon of his popular- 
ity. He was the only preacher at Konigsberg who set 
forth the truths of salvation and insisted upon the neces- 
sity of personal holiness and practical piety. The people 
were nauseated with rationalism, and longed for more 
palatable, more wholesome food. The contrast was too 
marked to escape observation and induce inquiry. The 
people were being awakened, and in some instances they 
were awake. The public opinion of Ebel, of course, 
was divided. That is always the case where the Word of 
4 



74 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

God is preached truly and earnestly ; the Gospel neces- 
sarily cuts asunder and separates, as in the hearts, the 
true from the false, so, in the masses, the lovers of truth 
from those who refuse to receive it. Some held that 
Ebel taught the way of God in truth ; others that he was 
deceiving the people. He was sneered at by some as " a 
preacher of grace," while others did not hesitate publicly 
to declare that he was the best, in fact the only popu- 
lar preacher. On one occasion, when some, at a social 
gathering, had given vent to their dislike of Ebel's views 
and preaching in attempts to ridicule and caricature 
them, a gentleman of high culture and social standing, 
and withal gifted with ready utterance, quietly corrected 
the sneerers by reproducing them as to their substance. 
The odium theologicum tried hard to cry him down, but 
it could not be done, for the people heard him gladly, 
and it became the general opinion that his preaching was 
powerful and unlike that of other scribes. 

During the exciting period of political convulsion ter- 
minating with the downfall of Napoleon (i 812-18 15), he 
frequently adverted to passing events in his sermons, for 
the purpose of stirring up patriotic feelings and deepen- 
ing the faith of his hearers in the shaping hand of God's 
overruling Providence. In that time of fearful anxiety 
the ecclesiastical authorities of Prussia had recommended 
week-day services as a means of promoting patriotism. 
They were held on Wednesday evenings, conducted by 
Ebel, and largely attended. A sermon preached at that 
time, bearing the title, " The Holy War," reflects the pre- 
vailing sentiments of the period, and the manner in which 
he sought to shape them for high and holy ends. He 
specifies the causes which induced Prussia to declare 
war against Napoleon in these words : 



FREDERIC COLLEGE. 75 

" The causes are holy, if we take the sword in defence of 
sacred possessions; if we are called upon to defend and fight 
for liberty of conscience to worship God according to the pre- 
cepts of His sacred Word, and to serve Him in spirit and in 
truth; for intellectual liberty, without which science and art 
cannot prosper; for independence from foreign tyranny, 
which would crush and deprive us of the blessings of peace 
which God dispenses; for the inalienable rights to our life 
and property, without whose enjoyments the higher ends of 
our existence are impossible. These are the causes of this 
war, and we may rest assured that a war founded on such 
causes is acceptable to God, and must conduce to the benefit 
of mankind, to our contemporaries, and to future genera- 
tions." 

And as to the spirit in which this war was to be waged, 
he gave utterance to thoughts which must have stirred 
the hearts and ennobled the aims of his hearers : 

" If this war for such high and holy ends is to succeed, it 
must be commenced, continued, and consummated in mutual 
union and confidence. — I pause to shed a tear of sorrow over 
thy sins, unhappy fatherland, so deeply humiliated and de- 
graded. What ? You seek peace without, and yet are at 
war within ? Are there not many in our midst who prefer 
the manners, the boastfulness and flatteries of the trifling and 
frivolous stranger to the simplicity, honesty and sturdiness 
of a near and sincere people ? It is high time, dear brethren, 
that you should return to soberness of mind and abandon the 
delusion to take grandiloquent lies for truth, appearance for 
reality. Cease to be ensnared and befooled. It is not dis- 
grace to avow error, 'and honor truth, for without truth we 

cannot live May the spirit of peace and concord 

dwell amongst us. Under the cross of Christ let us celebrate 
a great feast of reconciliation ; here where our sins are for- 
given, let us forget and forgive others. Here let us open 
wide the gates of our hearts to welcome the distant brothers 



?6 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

who still serve the enemy [allusion to the fact that certain 
portions of Germany were still with Napoleon, when Prussia 
gave the signal to rise], whenever they return to a sense 
of dignity to unite with us in the defence of the common 
weal." .... 

After enumerating the duties of self-denial and self- 
sacrifice, the voluntary surrender of all they prized, he 
urges spiritual sacrifice in prayer : 

" Let no one doubt," he concludes, " that the Omniscient 
Ruler of our destinies who from on high beholds the under- 
takings of the children of men, will hear our earnest heart- 
felt prayer, and crown with glorious victory and heavenly 
blessing our efforts to secure His own ends through Him. 
He will be on our side, because we are on His side, He will 
not leave us, because we do not leave Him. Fear not the 
anger, the cunning, the hatred or the strength of the enemy 
against whom we defend our most sacred rights. Do not 
abandon confident assurance, grow not weary in prayer, and 
relax not your courage in the conflict, waver not in your 
faith, for they that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their 
strength. And whoever now or hereafter hears the call to 
arms, his vocation as a warrior, or who volunteers to take 
his place in the ranks of the valiant defenders of our beloved 
country, let him unsheath the sword and take up arms in 
faith, wield them in this righteous and holy cause after the 
mind and purpose of God, and fight and triumph with God 
for king and fatherland ! [the Prussian war-cry]. Let him 
fight with his hands, but cry to God in his heart. In that 
way he will certainly discover ev.ery stratagem and overcome 
every obstacle the enemy can devise, break asunder every 
disgraceful bond, shake off every galling fetter which would 
compel us to act against conviction. With God, dear brethren, 
we will do deeds, to put an end to every spiritual thraldom, 
to every obstacle to progress, and barrier to truth !" 



FREDERIC COLLEGE. J? 

Such preaching told at Konigsberg ; its strong, manly, 
patriotic ring couM not fail to impress the people who 
had groaned so long under the iron heel of foreign and 
domestic oppression. They yearned for freedom, and 
though years had to pass before they got it — and indeed 
they are far from having it yet — the yearning was there, 
slumbering in their hearts, and Ebel gave it utterance 
with no uncertain sound. 

He was not a sentimentalist ; he did not believe in 
purely emotional preaching ; that he held to be contrary 
to our noblest intuitions, deceptive and highly injurious. 
"Dwelling chiefly on. feeling," he said, "is not truly 
human, but is deceptive and hurtful. Not truly human 
in that it accords to feeling an unduly exalted place in 
our nature, which in its ultimate aims destines man for 
a bliss involving the necessary antecedents of conscious- 
ness, personal perception of the truth, and decision ; in 
all these respects feeling occupies a very low place. It 
is deceptive in that it encourages the confounding of 
transient emotional ebullitions with permanent religious- 
ness or piety, inducing men to form exaggerated concep- 
tions of imaginary growth, and to foster spiritual pride 
and conceit. For feeling, or emotion, though prompted 
by grace, is extremely deceptive, unless it lead to im- 
mediate decision, and manifest itself in faith, and unin- 
terrupted fidelity."* One secret of the success of his 
sermons was a happy blending of heart and mind ; he 
touched his hearers in warm, glowing words that reached 
their heart, and he tried to convince their understand- 
ings. They presented a singular contrast to the dreary, 
hollow, metaphysical, dead speculations of emasculated 

*Die Apostolische Predigtist zeitgemass" Hamburg, 1835, p. 92 sq. 



78 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

Christianity, which in the guise of rationalizing morality- 
was the spiritual food of the good people of Konigsberg. 
In those days there was not a single pulpit in that city, 
besides Ebel's, where wholesome gospel doctrine was 
preached ; faith, renovation, personal holiness were not 
so much as breathed ; not a word was said about recon- 
ciliation and the atonement, and the one man who pro- 
fessed evangelical sentiments, I mean Borowski, took 
good care not to shock his hearers with such unfashion- 
able themes, and avoided to pollute his lips or their ears 
with allusions to the devil, who was, of course, a myth. 
No one preached sin, that was a myth ; or faith, that 
was weakness ; or that the Bible was the Word of God, 
that was a delusion ; or that Christ was God and died 
for our sins, that was nonsense ; there were plenty who 
taught that God did not create the world in six days, 
that the narrative of the fall was a metaphorical descrip- 
tion of inward temptation ; that the biblical dogma of 
the Trinity must not be taken literally, for that would 
amount to tritheism, but should be explained as anthro- 
pomorphism and anthropopathism ; that Christ's return 
to judgment was an allegory, or a dramatic representation, 
and that punishment itself must not be understood to im- 
ply eternal duration, for all would ultimately be saved. 

Bearing this in mind, it is not difficult to see why the 
growing popularity of a preacher who swept all this kind 
of preaching aside as dust and cobwebs, was not at all 
palatable to those clergymen who saw their own congre- 
gations thinning and their hearers flock to the Chapel of 
Frederic College. The thing rankled in their hearts, and 
they eagerly waited for a suitable opportunity to check 
the movement ; they thought it had come in a fast-day 
sermon of Ebel's on St. Matth. xi. 25, 28, " I thank thee, O 



FREDERIC COLLEGE. 79 

Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid 
these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed 
them unto babes," and " Come unto me all ye that labor 
and are heavy laden and I will give you rest," in which 
he pointed out that it was futile to expect that science 
without revelation could remedy the crying evils of the 
time. There appears to have been present among his 
audience at the time " a credible man," who Informed 
the Deputation that his teaching was unsound, or some- 
thing to that effect, whereupon that body officially 
charged him "with the frequent utterance of convic- 
tions in his sermons and lectures which might lead to 
dangerous misapprehensions, threatening to obscure the 
purity of the religious mind of the rising generation, and 
seeming to betray an attachment to the principles of a 
separatistic sect incompatible with evangelical tenets," 
requiring him "to explain the matter, as well as his 
present relations to Schonherr." 

Ebel did not know what to make of that vague official 
notice, and hesitated to comply with the request for 
a while ; he took, however, occasion, in a private letter 
to a member of the Deputation, to express the hope that 
that body would gradually become convinced of their 
error, and save him the sad necessity of telling them, for 
conscience's sake, some plain truths. Disappointed in 
this respect, and pressed for a reply, he wrote one, which, 
for straightforward outspokenness and manly courage, 
presents a striking contrast to the vague insinuations 
of the anonymous credible accuser, and the still vaguer 
inferences of the Deputation. It is quite lengthy, though 
to the point, and in every respect a triumphant vindica- 
tion of his position. He indignantly repelled and re- 
futed the innuendoes of the Deputation, and concluded 



80 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

with the sentence, referring to Schonherr, "With God 
and for his truth we are not afraid, though a host should 
be against us ; if God be for us, who can be against us ? " 

This bold and defiant language did not suit the Depu- 
tation, who, within a week (June 21, 18 14) from the 
date of Ebel's reply, forwarded it with all the documents, 
including the printed works of Schonherr, to the Minis- 
ter at Berlin, accompanied by a report specifying that 
" Ebel had always approved himself as an honest man of 
blameless purity ; that his pre-eminent and fascinating 
ability in the pulpit and the school-room, affecting young 
and old alike, would make him an ornament of Frederic 
College but for his sectarian tendency, and that, consid- 
ering his qualities of heart and mind, they had reason to 
suppose he would recover independence of thought if he 
could be removed from the influence of Schonherr," con- 
cluding with the recommendation that he be suspended 
from ministerial functions and removed to a scholastic 
position. 

The Ministerium for Ecclesiastical Affairs in Berlin, 
the highest authority in Prussia, examined the report of 
the Deputation, and at the instance of Schleiermacher, 
the distinguished theologian, to whom the matter had 
been referred, negatived their recommendations, accom- 
panied by a severe censure of their action. As this is a 
very important document of great ability, it is here repro- 
duced. It bears date August 28, 18 14, and runs : 

"The Ecclesiastical and School Deputation has taken in 
hand a very precarious affair, requiring the most cautious 
and careful treatment, seeing that it contemplates a limita- 
tion and even a revocation of the liberty of teaching of a 
teacher in the church and school. The proper mode of pro- 
cedure on the part of the Deputation ought to have been to 



FREDERIC COLLEGE. 8l 

begin with a clearly-defined conception of the nature and 
limits of the liberty of evangelical teaching as bearing on 
the case of teachers in the church and school as contrasted 
with learned inquirers in universities, and having, upon ex- 
haustive investigation of the matter, formed a definite and 
complete exposition of the alleged errors of Schonherr, to 
have submitted the same to the judgment of the Ministerium. 
Schonherr's printed work, which has been forwarded, is not 
sufficient for the purpose, for it contains only cosmogonical 
explanations, designed to establish the authority of the Bible, 
and without any clanger to the interests of morality. . . . 
And as to Schonherr's conduct, which, in the opinion of the 
Deputation, is supposed to stamp him as a fanatic and sect- 
ary, Ebel's declarations on the subject appear throughout so 
definite, ingenuous, and credible, that the Ministerium cannot 
pronounce an adverse decision, seeing that the report of the 
Deputation lacks all authentic and contradictory data." 

On the subject of Ebel's relations to Schonherr the 
document declares : 

" Their personal intercourse and friendship are purely irrel- 
evant, as it does not lie within the competence of public 
authorities to hold their subordinates responsible for their 
company, so long as it is not in manifest conflict with the 
laws of morality and of the State, or does not withdraw them 
from the discharge of official duty. The specified separate 
expressions alleged by the Deputation to have been made by 
Ebel, are so general that they might have been made by any 
one without being an adherent of Schonherr. But they do 
not reflect unfavorably on Ebel in any other respect. For 
his expressions on the value of science as connected with 
religion ought to have been given verbatim in the connection 
in which they were used in order to pass a correct opinion of 
them, and whoever treats in the pulpit or in the school of 
the dogma of the devil does not transgress the limits of the 
evangelical liberty of teaching, for it cannot be demonstrated 



82 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

that it is not founded on Holy Scripture As the 

Deputation has seen fit, without proofs resulting from thor- 
ough and exhaustive investigation, to begin with severe accusa- 
tions against Ebel without anything to substantiate them, it 
is not by any means surprising that Ebel construes their pro- 
cedure as contradicting the express declaration of the Depu- 
tation that they did not wish in the least to curtail the evan- 
gelical liberty of teaching, and in his reply assumes the posi- 
tion of an opponent, and the Deputation has accorded him 
that prerogative by their reference of the case to the decision 
of the Ministerium without having furnished the necessary 
proofs of their assertions. This exposition of the case renders 
it evident that the Ministerium is unable to decide it accord- 
ing to their recommendations. The report and its accom- 
panying documents establish abundantly that Ebel does not 
deserve to be either removed or supended from the functions 
of a teacher in the church and the school. To visit him with 
either would be inconsistent and an act of violence, and lay 
the Ministerium open to the suspicion of a spirit of persecu- 
tion, against which it believes to have cause to warn the 
Deputation. '*' 

This Ministerial Rescript was a nauseous draught ad- 
ministered to the Deputation, but like many nauseous 
medicines it had salutary effects, for it taught the gentle- 
men that it was not safe to persecute a man like Ebel, 
whom the highest authority in the State pronounced ab- 
solutely free from all the terrible charges which they had 
brought against him, and that even his private philosophical 
convictions were declared on the same authority to be war- 
ranted by Holy Scripture. The immediate result of 
the Rescript was not only an effectual cessation of open 
hostility on the part of the Deputation, but as its tenor 
became known, an increasing popularity of the persecuted 
minister. 



FREDERIC COLLEGE. 83 

And how did Ebel behave under this unprovoked and 
bitter hostility ? He was cheerful and full of faith, and 
practised what he taught. In the Conference Room of 
the college was suspended the portrait of Dr. Lysius, 
the founder of the institution and his predecessor in the 
Ministry, with the inscription : 

Nichts mehr dn lieber Her re 7nein, 
Dein Tod soil mir das Leben sein. 

He also had been reviled as a heretic and a sectary. 
That picture and its history gave him consolation and 
encouragement in his trials ; it refreshed his soul, for he 
felt that he preached the word of reconciliation, and that 
he was persecuted solely because he preached pure, un- 
adulterated prophetical and apostolical doctrine. The 
persecution he regarded as a token of divine favor and 
a seal to his ministry ; it deepened his piety, increased 
his faith, and augmented his zeal. 



CHAPTER IV. 



O L D-T OWN CHURCH. 



I have already referred to Ebel's growing popularity. 
Several of the larger parishes desired his ministrations, 
and although hostile influences were silently at work to 
prevent his promotion, the feeling in his favor was so 
strong and pronounced, that the largest parish in the 
city chose him for their Pastor on January 8, 1816. He 
preached his first sermon from 2 Cor. i. 24 : " Not for 
that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of 
your joy ; for by faith ye stand." It was a noble effort, 
very characteristic of the man ; he showed that a good 
and true minister, so far from seeking to establish a 
dominion over the faith of his parishioners, dares not, 
cannot and will not prostitute and caricature his sacred 
office by arrogating to himself any such domination ; not 
as a spiritual despot but as a helper of their joy he had 
come into their midst. These were its leading thoughts ; 
but that there should be no misapprehension as to what 
he understood joy to import, he took occasion to turn to 
the open Bible and said : 

" My dear congregation, with this book in my hand I pur- 
pose always to come to you ; and not only with the book, but 
with a heart overflowing with the profoundest veneration 
for all it contains, and yearning to impart to you all the 
84 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 85 

blessed truths of its sacred pages. Whenever I ascend this 
pulpit, from which the sainted Neumann used to catechize me 
as a child in the truths of this book, I will point to it; when- 
ever I ascend that altar where my grandfather, my father and 
I professed the Christian faith and were confirmed, I shall 
feel under ever-new obligations to preach to you Christ ; and 
whenever you draw near in confession * to yonder seat, where 
the godly Erhard Jacob Jester and his father spoke to you 
the words of life and spent themselves in the service of God, 
your confidence will encourage me to proclaim to you the 
truth and comfort of the Word of God, and what it requires 
you to do. Yea, wherever and whenever I have to lift my 
voice in your hearing, in the chamber of sorrow and bereave- 
ment, at festal gatherings of joyous occasions, I will ever 
announce to you the everlasting truth, so that the hearts 
of parents may be gladdened by the consecration of their 
children, the sick refreshed, the mourner comforted, and 
the dying prepared in faith for the bliss to come, with the 
last look of their eyes, and a farewell pressure of their hand 
bear me testimony that I was a helper of their joy." 

The allusions in this extract require an explanatory 
paragraph. The Old-Town Church was truly his spiritual 
home, full of the most tender and touching associations. 
His grandfather, his father and himself had been con- 
firmed in the venerable edifice. There stood a pillar 
near which his grandmother had consecrated his father in 
maternal tenderness to the service of God. There for 
three generations the Ebels had been wont to worship 
God ; both his father and he, as scholars of the Latin 
School, had filled the office of acolytes at its altar ; there 
he had been catechized ; there his father had been pre- 
centor, and Ebel, blessed with a full, melodious voice, 

* Confession in the Lutheran Church is a devotional sendee pre- 
paratory to Communion. 



86 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

had often represented his father in that office at mattins, 
led the song of the congregation, and as the voice of the 
youth had rehearsed the praises of God in many an old 
and beautiful choral, so now in the first maturity of his 
manhood the same voice rehearsed the praise and glory 
of the same God in the message of the Gospel. His 
father's joy at his promotion was unbounded. 

" What a blessing," he wrote, " what happiness that I am 
permitted to see my son lead souls to Christ ! How much 
greater, how ecstatic will be our bliss, when we and our flocks 
shall appear before the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls to 
blend our praises with His and to reign with Him ! Let 
others joy over the enlightenment they have found in the 
nineteenth century, we will joy and rejoice' in the Lord who 
died for our sins and rose for our justification." 

The truly evangelical turn which now marked the relig- 
ious convictions of the elder Ebel had been, under God's 
merciful guiding, one of the sweetest first fruits of the 
younger's ministry.* 

Friends near and at a distance had been gladdened by 
his preferment. From his old country cure came words 
of congratulation: 

"We thank you," wrote his kind and grateful friends, " for 
telling us that you have been chosen preacher of the Old- 
Town Church. We are one and all delighted at the news, 

* This excellent man held, during the last years of his life, the 
pasorate at Goldbach, near Tapiau. He was called away in 1823, 
in the sixty-sixth year of his life, after a brief illness. Before his 
peaceful and happy departure, he summoned his friends to his bed- 
side and sang with them the beautiful hymn, " Man lobt dich inder 
Stille" and dwelt with great delight on the love of his children, 
who, on that account, he felt sure, must be happy. His confidence 
was prophetic. 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 87 

and continue to take the warmest interest in your welfare, 
rejoiced at your success and your promotion, uniting our 
praises with yours to Lord God Almighty, merciful and just, 
for answering our prayers and frustrating the designs of your 
enemies. . . . All the good people that know and love 
you, share your joy. I told some, whom I knew to be your 
friends, of the good news, and they burst out in jubilant re- 
joicings. Count Donhof told me he had felt sure that the 
choice would fall on the dear, good Ebel, so you see that the 
salvation of the righteous is of the Lord, and that He heareth 
the prayer of His children that cry unto Him and love and 
fear his holy name." 

The cure of souls, with which he was especially 
charged in his new position, engaged the peculiar care 
and prayerful anxiety of Ebel. That important part of 
the Christian ministry was almost entirely neglected in 
Germany during the first quarter of this century, and 
very imperfectly attended to in the second. It was 
Ebel's most studious and earnest endeavor to make it a 
reality. The great difficulty of that work is well under- 
stood and deeply and painfully felt by all clergymen 
truly and sincerely anxious to turn intercourse with their 
parishioners to spiritual benefit. It is sometimes appa- 
rently impossible to establish that relation ; and yet as 
each parishioner has a soul so be saved, we are bound to 
try, as far as we are able, to bring that soul under relig- 
ious influence. So felt Ebel, and as his practice was ex- 
ceptional at Konigsberg and singularly successful, it is 
by no means surprising that it was first called peculiar, 
and then cried down as " Sectirerei" or separatism, which 
word has an unpleasant ring in German ears, and is 
meant to insinuate a species of hypocritical cant. He 
did not thrust his spiritual ministrations on others, but 
encouraged his parishioners to consult him about their 



88 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

spiritual affairs. The Old-Town Church was served by- 
several clergymen, and the regular weekly services in the 
church were unusually frequent. There were three ser- 
vices with sermons on Sundays and Holy days, and three 
mattin services during the week, besides the public pre- 
paratory services for the Holy Communion. Under these 
circumstances the influence of the pulpit was exceptionally- 
strong in that particular church, and the earnest, search- 
ing, and faithful utterances of Ebel were blessed to the 
awakening of many souls who, until then, had been fed 
with the husks of rationalizing, skeptical dogmas, on 
which they were spiritually starving. Diestel, his friend 
and colleague, who had known him a score of years, said 
on this peculiar gift of Ebel in the cure of souls : 

" On the firm and solid foundation of the word of revela- 
tion, the treasury of truth and wisdom to all seekers of the 
truth and lovers of God, Ebel has a wonderful power to pierce 
with the living word, as it animates him through and through, 
the hearts and minds of his hearers ; his tact in evoking the 
hidden germs of the spiritual life, in uniting things that are 
like, and sundering those that are unlike, is marvellous, and 
singles him out as eminently skilled in stirring and develop- 
ing in love, wisdom and power the spiritual life, in compre- 
hending ' with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and 
depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ.' " 

Students and professors in the university flocked in 
masses to the Old-Town church to be quickened in heart 
and thought by the ardent zeal and eloquent fervor of 
this veritable Gospel preacher. Of his appearance and 
carriage a parishioner drew the following sketch : 

" His words are enhanced by his engaging and winsome 
presence. Noble in form, strong yet lithe, quick and grace- 
ful in his movements, his regular, handsome features express 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 89 

gentleness. His sparkling large blue eyes under a noble fore- 
head surmounted with brilliant raven hair smoothly parted 
proclaim at once ardent self-consecration in the service of God 
and of sympathetic interest in his fellow-men; his voice is well 
modulated and melodious, a fit means of the full utterances of 
his love. He presents the rare appearance of a servant of Christ 
who combines a wonderful array of personal attractions and 
extraordinary intellectual endowments with the purest zeal in 
the service of God for the benefit of his fellow-men." 

This is certainly an attractive portraiture, which might 
seem overdrawn if it stood isolated ; but here is another 
that not only corroborates but intensifies it. 

" The people of Konigsberg are well acquainted with the 
splendor of the beautiful services which under the ministry 
of Ebel has quickened a truly Christian life in the largest 
congregation assembling in our largest church. The impos- 
ing edifice, the extraordinary richness and beauty of the 
music rendered with singular effectiveness by an excellent 
chorus supported by the rich tones of its celebrated organ, 
the great solemnity and dignity of the established ritual, and 
above all things the vital and deeply impressive preaching of 
the Divine Word by Ebel, conspire in the production of a 
wonderfully edifying service. He preaches not only on Sun- 
days and Holy Days but at mattins to large congregations 
composed of all classes of society, who receive his message 
with the most lively interest and a yearning for salvation 
quickening and developing true devotion and spiritual ac- 
tivity ; these services are singularly edifying and give the im- 
pression that God is worshipped here in spirit and in truth, 
an impression fully sustained by their influence on the private 
and public life of the city in the promotion of a true Christian 
spirit. The beautiful Old-Town Church services, unique in 
their kind, and universally admired, have left an indelible 
remembrance in the minds of all who have been edified by 
them, and of many to whom they did not become, as they 
were designed, a savor of life unto life." 



90 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

Here is another testimony from a clergyman, who 
often attended them : 

" The living conviction which animates Ebel, must needs 
be operative in quickening energy. His personal love of God 
and Christ, his absolute unconditional faith in the declarations 
of Holy Scripture, his undoubted assurance that the promises 
of God are true and in course of fulfilment, and lastly his con- 
viction that man is a free agent at liberty to make choice con- 
cerning himself and his eternal destiny, to elect good or evil, 
life or death as a principle by which to shape his course, to 
grasp, apply and confirm it in his life, to be personally active 
and instrumental by incessant vigilance and unremitting labor 
in laying now the foundation for the future — such spiritual 
elements could not fail from their very nature to produce 
powerful and vital effects. Whoever was susceptible to spir- 
itual impressions, or swayed by noble impulses would be 
drawn to Ebel's sermons, and those who came to church to 
worship God and learn His will, came not in vain, but were 
satisfied with the light and warmth, the life and strength 
which his ministrations of the Word imparted. The solem- 
nity and devout attention, the rapt and profound devotion, 
the thoughtful and sympathetic bearing of the congregation 
were in perfect harmony with the spiritual beauty of the ser- 
vice, in which prayer, music and sermon presented an edify- 
ing unity in diversity. The services impressed you with the 
conviction that a free and vital spirit underlay and entered 
into all their component parts ; and they promoted in our 
city a truly Christian spirit in a congregation thoroughly in 
earnest to learn and to do the will of God." 

And yet another expression, from one that loved to 
own that she owed her spiritual life to him, may conclude 
this array of testimony : 

"Without admitting it to myself, until then I had never 
really loved to go to church, for I am not sentimentally dis- 
posed, and the ordinary preaching did not attract me. But 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 91 

Ebel's preaching gave me the first conviction that faith has 
its reasons, that Christianity is designed to meet every want, 
and therefore the wants of thinking ; that it is the religion of 
consciousness, and therefore of joy ; that it wants not slaves, 
not dull and lukewarm confessors (like many church-goers, 
who hear and learn much, but not what is the will and pur- 
pose of God, who behind His back mock and remain idle, and 
in His presence assume the air of saintliness) ; . . . but 
children, volunteers, friends, loving to know and cheerfully to 
do His blessed will. His manner of dwelling on the voluntary 
surrender of the heart to God who loved us first ; to proclaim 
in His name joy, at once delighting in Him and in response 
to His love ; to implant and realize a life conforming to the 
truth as it is in Jesus, as it existed in the primitive church ; 
that preaching, so novel and strange at a time when religion 
was frivolous and dead, everywhere and irresistibly awakened 
the life of an energizing faith. ... It awakened me first 
to rapt attention ... it gave me an insight into the 
heart of God as that of a Father, and taught me, what before 
I had not thought of, that He loves me ; my love went out to 
Him with an intensity of ardor that I had not known before ; 
it taught me that I had found my Father, and it filled me with 
rapturous joy. My former life with its trials and experiences, 
as far as they had engaged my imagination, fell into oblivion 
with the sole exception of the feelings I had cherished of God, 
and the thoughts I had bestowed on Him. The old spell or 
ban that had lain on me, seemed to be broken, my whole 
being began to breathe free, in an element wonderfully con- 
genial to its original necessity. . . . Whatever was of 
foreign growth dropped away from me like a garment, and I 
felt in this my first, never dreamt of reception of the love of 
God, as if all of a sudden all things had become new, within 
and around me, and I rejoiced in being the happiest of the 
children of men." * 



* Ida von der Groben, " Die Liebezur Wahrheit" pp. xxv-xxxvii. 



92 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

These testimonies suffice to show what Ebel did : we 
will now lift the curtain to gain an insight into his feel- 
ings. He realized more than ever the tremendous re- 
sponsibilities of his sacred calling ; there was not only 
the most earnest anxiety as to the proper selection of 
topics, so that he might to the best of his ability rightly 
divide the Word of God ; but the most studious and 
prayerful endeavor to present the truth so as to meet the 
spiritual needs of his people. He never ascended the 
pulpit without trepidation, for he felt that he was the 
messenger of God, the ambassador of Christ entreating 
men to be reconciled to God. He lived in a period and 
in a city singularly destitute of the knowledge of vital 
religion, and powerfully prejudiced against everything 
that savored of practical piety and true godliness. Where 
such is the dominant feeling in a large and influential 
community the servant of God is sorely tried, and must 
be peculiarly watchful to keep from his views, and ex- 
clude from his teaching any and everything that to his 
own conscience may seem a betrayal of his sacred trust, 
a temporizing with the interests of God, or a withholding 
part of His counsel from the people ; the great end of 
his ministry is to bring the hearts of his hearers, under 
the influence of the divine Word, and to save their souls. 
He must try to gain their confidence to win them over 
to the service of Christ ; he must touch their hearts and 
convince their understandings to enlist them in the sacra- 
mental host of the saved ; he must therefore avoid to 
hurt their feelings., or offend their prejudices, and deal 
gently and sparingly with sensitive and vulnerable points. 
Now all this requires almost superhuman tact, skill, and 
wisdom, and a true minister of Christ trembles at the 
greatness of his work when he is daily, hourly and pain- 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 93 

fully reminded that he is but an earthen vessel, swayed 
by contending emotions ; questions that spring from the 
fear of man must be dispelled, and he must gird himself 
for his work in pasturing his own soul, in rising superior 
to every earthly consideration, in listening only to the 
dictates of his conscience quickened by prayer and the 
study of the Word of God, to be bent upon only one 
thing, to do the will of God in reliance upon divine 
direction, regardless of consequences. That was the 
spiritual conflict in Ebel's soul, and he derived unspeak- 
able comfort and encouragement from the words of Jer- 
emiah xv. 19-21, which in Luther's version read thus : 
" Therefore thus saith the Lord : If thou wilt hold thee 
to me, I will hold to thee, and thou shalt remain my 
preacher ; and if thou shalt teach the godly to separate 
themselves from the wicked, thou shalt be my teacher : 
and thou shalt not turn to them, but they shall turn to 
thee. For I have made thee unto this people a fenced 
brazen wall ; and though they fight against thee, they 
shall not prevail against thee \ for I am with thee to save 
thee and to deliver thee, saith the Lord. And I will also 
deliver thee out of the hand of the wicked, and I will 
redeem thee out of the hand of the terrible." This pas- 
sage, so striking in its boldness, is a fair sample of the 
wonderful genius of Luther as a translator ; the exact 
phraseology is neither in the Hebrew; the Septuagint nor 
the Vulgate, which warrant the more literal rendering of 
the Authorized Version, but that his version seizes the 
sense and expresses it in wonderfully clear language, not 
uncolored by his own personal experience, none can deny: 
and the words must have come home with irresistible 
force to Ebel in the courageous warfare he waged in the 
service of God in the midst of an irreligious and gain- 



94 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

saying people. He felt when he stood in the Old-Town 
pulpit that he must take the offensive against the world, 
that his weapon must be the sword of the Spirit, the 
Word of God, and he knew the temper of the times too 
well to apply the unction to his soul that the world 
would submit to his entreaties ; he knew that his every 
position would be assailed, that he would have to en- 
counter the most positive and bitter antagonism, and that 
it became him to be thoroughly equipped for the seem- 
ingly unequal conflict. We are told that he was wont to 
fortify himself, as he ascended the pulpit in that try- 
ing period of his ministry, repeating to himself some 
sentiment of encouragement embodied in favorite hymns, 
especially the stanza : 

Hilf selbst durch alle Schwierigkeit, 
Und audi durch alle Schwachen, 

In glaubiger Ergebenheit, 
In Sieg und Segen brechen. 

In his own words, expressed many years later, Ebel 
recognized his peculiar mission : 

"To appeal to the will and excite it to personal liberty, so 
that by its own deliberate decision men might show grati- 
tude for the love of God and evince it in their lives made con- 
formable to God's. I regard it as the great work of my life 
to urge the children of God to voluntary self-consecration in 
the pursuit of goodness ; this I deem to have been especially 
committed to my charge, my peculiar mission to this genera- 
tion, that the glorious liberty of the children of God, to wit : 
their full status of adoption, may soon become manifest on 
earth (even as St. Paul testifies — Rom. viii. 19, 23), which is 
intimately connected with deliverance from the bondage of 
corruption, from bodily tribulation, for which the creature 
and our sorely-plagued race is yearning. But that deliver- 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 95 

ance, that redemption of our body involves the condition of 
our voluntary participation in the work of our salvation, the 
condition of grateful return love for mercies received, for, as 
I apprehend the matter in virtue of the light vouchsafed to 
me, man is not a machine, solely left to be operated upon by 
God (for that would make God the author of sin and evil), 
but an independent agent, of his own free will to choose the 
good and refuse the evil, to accept, appropriate, and apply 
the means of grace which God offers him, and on the proper 
use off which depends his salvation, which God has placed in 
his own hand. What is growth in grace unless it be growth 
to independence, to free, personal decision in the adoption 
and practice of good ? And wherever this growth is recog- 
nized as the original motive-spring of the development of 
our spiritual life, the crouching, slavish mien and bearing 
of fear cannot exist ; man, conscious of the great end of his 
existence, rejoices in the knowledge that he is called upon to 
co-operate with God, and though his success may not keep even 
pace with his endeavor, though resistance struggle with suc- 
cess, a good man, in spite of it, joyously lifts up head and eye, 
and his pure good will is owned in heaven, even as it re- 
wards him on earth." 



As I understand Ebel, he points out that our moral 
liberty consists in the united power of thinking and rea- 
soning, and of choosing and acting upon such thinking 
and reasoning ; so that the clearer our thought and con- 
ception is of what is fit and right, and the more constantly 
our choice is determined by it, the more nearly we rise 
to the highest acts and exercises of this liberty. The 
fact that God enjoins any commandment whatsoever im- 
plies the ability of man to do or not to do it. As the 
church of the Laodiceans (Rev. hi. 14-20) was exhorted 
to open the door at the Lord's bidding that He might 
come in and sup with them (cf. St. Luke xiv. 16-24) so 



g6 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

we must make the necessary preparation, and put on 
the wedding-garment His love supplies (St. Matth. xxii. 
1-14). 

Ebel's theology as reflected in his sermons is not of a 
particular school or stripe, but strictly biblical and 
therefore edifying. His constant aim was to win friends 
for Jesus, true friends bearing much fruit, and he urged 
and entreated men to begin the blessedness of their 
friendship this side the grave, with such warmth and 
earnestness that one day one of his hearers on leaving 
the church exlaimed : " He would in his love take men 
to heaven by force, if he could have his own will ; but 
it cannot be done that way, and he must leave many 
behind." 

His preaching was eminently practical, the outcome of 
his own spiritual experience, and touched in every turn 
and thought the spiritual wants of his hearers, and that 
made it acceptable to all classes and conditions of men, 
to the educated and the illiterate. Strangers were so much 
struck and touched to the quick by his presentation of the 
truth that they were eager to seek his personal acquaint- 
ance, or where that was impracticable, to thank him in 
letters for the benefit they had received. The influence 
and effects of his sermons were remarkable, and he rarely 
preached without awakening to life some soul or another. 
His faith was strong and childlike, and he relied impli- 
citly on what may be called the inspiration of the mo- 
ment for the choice of a topic or its treatment. At least 
it happened not rarely that he delivered a sermon alto- 
gether different from the tenor of his preparation. It 
has already been stated that he always preached ex capite ; 
on several occasions he had actually read the text, and 
under an irresistible impulse preached another sermon 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 97 

than that he had prepared, and learned years after that 
on those particular occasions, to his great joy, persons of 
whom he knew absolutely nothing at the time, ascribed 
the turning point in their spiritual life to those very ser- 
mons. In the years 18 18 and 1822, when very large 
numbers were religiously influenced by him, his minis- 
try was exceptionally blessed. 

Baron von Heyking, in his manuscript notices of Ebel's 
life, mentions from personal knowledge the case of several 
persons on whom a discourse on the words " My son, 
give me thy heart," produced so powerful an impression 
that it decided their religious life, which stood the test of 
temptation. Another sermon on the topic : " The Great 
Change wrought in us by the Holy Spirit " (given in 
Appendix A), had an extraordinary influence on many 
minds, stirring their inmost soul in earnest longing for 
that blessed change ; the Spirit of God rested upon him, 
" and the Lord added to the church daily such as should 
be saved." In his ministry was fulfilled the prophetic 
announcement that the hearts of the fathers were turned 
to the children, and also the hearts of the children to 
the fathers ; its influence was so great and wide-spread 
at this time that there was hardly a Christian family 
throughout the province, that did not directly or indirect- 
ly share its spiritual blessing. 

And what was the magnetism of those sermons and of 
the man felt everywhere, which attracted even to the 
mattins (held at 6 a.m.) professors, civil and military 
officers, students, etc., some of whom so deeply interested 
in what they heard, that they wrote down the sermons, 
copied and circulated them among friends at a great 
distance ? In what consisted their vitalizing power ? I 
allow his friend Heyking to answer these questions. 
5 



98 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

" Ebel was free from all one-sidedness in thought and 
feeling, but all life, and the spiritual element dominated 
in him, so that his sermons were thoughts drawn from 
the Word of God, quickened by his own experience 
and a keen knowledge of the hearts of men, not transient 
ebullitions of feeling, and yet they were so warm, earnest 
and manifold that they were sure to touch all who felt 
the need of just that kind of stimulus to quicken their 
spiritual life. He did not deal out things by halves, but 
teaching the whole truth in the conversion of a soul to 
God and cutting off all excuses, his words entered into 
every receptive soil. He did not separate sanctification 
from reconciliation ; if he extolled the mercy of God pity- 
ing man in his misery and providing the means of his salva- 
tion, he exhorted men to use their liberty in order to be- 
come free indeed. But even whole truths, free from 
doctrinal objection may be so presented that they re- 
semble painted plants without growth and life ; Ebel's 
words were living plants ; life only can gender life, and 
if life and truth had not dwelt in them, and been 
infused into them from his own heart and soul, they 
would have fallen, like many other sensible words uttered 
or written, dead upon the ears and souls of his hearers ; 
but they were powerful and operative, because he was 
true, and stood in the truth. I remember the conversa- 
tion of two of my legal friends, in which the one alleged 
that preachers did not believe what they taught, and the 
other replied that while he shared his opinion in gen- 
eral, he knew one exception, and that was Ebel, who be- 
lieved what he taught. Love was another element of his 
sermons, not of the weak sort, but emitting flames when 
he dwelt on the self-deception of many who think that 
they love and honor Christ and are sure of salvation, 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 99 

when with trifling temerity they degrade Him into a 
servant of sin. There were those who held that repent- 
ance had nothing to do with Christianity, and mocked at 
his discourses as "penitential sermons." He did preach 
repentance, but repentance unto life, not unto death ; he 
reasoned that God is Love, and has created us to happi- 
ness and joy — to joy in a holy spirit, and that He does 
not wish us to perish either in melancholy and despair, 
or in voluptuousness ; and that Christianity is a religion 
of joy, educating us to the noblest enjoyments ; thus he 
taught it, and thus he lived it." 

In Appendix A are produced several of the most cele- 
brated of Ebel's sermons ; they are noble utterances 
of noble thoughts, thoroughly biblical throughout, an.d 
homiletical productions cast in the traditional mould cur- 
rent in Germany ; in point of language, rhetorical finish, 
felicitous and ready application, they may be instanced 
as pattern sermons, elevating and edifying to Christian 
readers everywhere, clerical or lay. Their perusal, for 
which the glowing language of Baron Heyking and of so 
many other most competent witnesses is almost sure to 
whet the appetite of the reader, may not come up to his 
expectations ; and it is impossible that it can. The 
printed sermons are not the sermons which electrified 
his audience ; they give the words he wrote down in his 
study before and after they were preached, but they are 
minus his delivery, the charm and witchery of his elo- 
quent, musical voice, of his eagle glance, of his dignified 
presence, of the vital and vitalizing energy which went 
out from the heart and soul of the preacher into the 
heart and soul of his hearers. On this point all that 
ever heard Ebel are agreed ; and we must bear it in 
mind in perusing these sermons. They are noble and 



IOO FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

worthy mementos of a Christian hero, but they are not, 
and cannot be, the sermons which shook Konigsberg and 
the entire province, and roused the spiritually dead from 
the sleep of death into life, and quickened that life into 
enthusiastfc self-consecration to the service of Christ ; 
for that it were necessary to bring back the Christian 
victor from the paradise of God. 

Ebel attached the utmost value to the early morning 
services, which were unspeakably precious to him. On 
festivals they were held at six o'clock, on week-days at 
seven ; to attend them necessarily involved self-denial 
and betokened profound religious feeling, and before his 
time they had been deserted. Their distinctive feature 
was their high range of thought and deep, soul-searching 
discipline, designed to meet the spiritual wants of earnest 
seekers and matured Christians.* The Monday service 
was specially devoted to the study of the Bible, and he 
called his expositions " Glances at the Bible." In the 
course of his long ministry at the Old-Town Church he 
traversed in that way the whole field of the Word of God ; 
until 1827 the contents of the Old Testament, and from 
that period to the close of his official career in 1835 that 
of the New Testament. It is much to be regretted that 
that most valuable and characteristic series of exposi- 
tions has not been permanently preserved in print. 

His heart was aglow with love for the young, in whom 
he took the profoundest interest ; to sow in their pure, 
uncontaminated hearts the good seed of the divine truths 
was his favorite employment, and engaged his warmest 
prayers and ceaseless thought. He took especial pains 
with candidates for confirmation. It may be necessary 

* See " A Paradox " Appendix A. 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 10 1 

to state, for the benefit of those not familiar with that 
discipline of Church instruction in Germany, that the 
clergy are bound to administer confirmation annually to 
the youth of the parish, and the proper age, the years of 
discretion as we call it, is generally the completion of the 
fourteenth year ; it is also proper to add that the Church 
in Germany is an establishment not only connected with 
the State, but under State control, so that the position of 
a parish minister is invested with a degree of authority 
unknown under voluntary systems. In the matter of 
confirmation, e. g., a search for candidates, or special 
effort to induce their attendance at lectures or courses of 
instruction, does not devolve upon a Lutheran minister 
in Germany ; the whole parish youth, duly registered in 
books kept for the purpose, are required to attend, and 
do so as a matter of course. This accounts for the large 
number of catechumens, and for the great opportunity 
given to a truly devout and earnest minister to bring per- 
sonal influence to bear on the formation of the character, 
grounding in the faith, and the growth of Christian nur- 
ture and life of the youthful members of his flock. Ebel 
turned that golden opportunity to the best advantage of 
his catechumens, in whom he saw the hope of the Church. 
He divided them into three classes, representing their 
grades of culture and intellectual capacity ; there was a 
class of weak ones, a class of average or middle ability, 
and a class of able ones ; he gave two or three hours a 
week to each class ; the instruction on a particular day 
lasted three hours ; in the first he would have the weak 
ones by themselves, in the second the weak with those of 
medium capacity, and in the third these with the most 
advanced, while the weak ones were required to be pres- 
ent as hearers ; in addition to this he met the most able 



102 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

by themselves several times a week. The advantages of 
such a system, where it can be introduced at all, are 
manifest. The weak by themselves are prepared for 
higher instruction each time they meet ; the judicious 
and kind directions of their spiritual guide encourage 
and qualify them for participation in the catechetical 
exercises designed for all, while that considerate and 
careful preparation shields them from hurtful reflections 
by their more able and gifted companions, to which 
thoughtless answers, or answers betraying their ignorance, 
would naturally give rise. The course of instruction was 
based on passages of Scripture, which, as well as appro- 
priate hymns, were required to be committed ; the lessons 
they embodied were duly explained and made to bear on 
religious and practical duties of daily life, particular pains 
being taken to induce vigilance, thoughtfulness, self- 
examination, and, above all things, practice. His method 
attracted attention, and was thus noticed in print : 

" Ebel's instruction of candidates for confirmation was 
based on vital reciprocity. Even the rudest were unable to 
resist the spirit which influenced them ; the disobedient be- 
came obedient, the dull grew vivacious and communicative, 
the triflers became serious, and the careless diligent. He 
did not turn out only awakened youth, but young men and 
maidens fully prepared with the growth of their self-con- 
sciousness to understand the end of their existence, and to 
consecrate themselves in the first ardor of their love to the 
service of God, prepared for the discharge of their duty to 
God and to man. The expression of this kind of instruction 
on the day of confirmation was very striking. The catechu- 
mens did not shed tears originating mostly in an impulse of 
momentary emotion, antl apt to dry forever after the excite- 
ment of the hour ; but they exhibited a free, conscious, and 
intelligent statement, plainly showing that their ideas were 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. IO3 

clear and distinct, that they were held firmly and truly, 
that they had not merely learned what they uttered, but un- 
derstood and believed it." 

That the children were devotedly and affectionately 
attached to their good pastor needs no particular men- 
tion, but it was remarkable that children belonging else- 
where, and parents residing at a great distance coveted 
the privilege for their children to come into personal re- 
lations with one so singularly gifted to excite and sustain 
the love of the truth, and to bless them with the choicest 
and best of heaven's gifts. 

As at Hermsdorf, so at Konigsberg, Ebel's relations to 
his catechumens did not end with their confirmation ; as 
they were sure of his interest and affection for them, so 
he encouraged them to maintain social intercourse with 
him, and set apart special days for conferring with them 
on whatever might be of interest to them, but espe- 
cially on their own personal relations to God and the 
Saviour. 

He was the pastor on all occasions of a joyous or of 
an afflictive character. At baptisms and weddings, the 
visitation of the sick and at funerals, he strove to let his 
speech be always seasoned with salt, and in his pastoral 
visits, which the great extent of the parish and its multi- 
farious duties rendered only occasionally practicable, he 
would invariably dwell on religious and spiritual themes. 
Prayer-meetings and similar gatherings he did not en- 
courage, deeming them of doubtful spiritual value, and 
not without danger. He would not interfere with them 
. when they had been introduced and were productive of 
good, and considered them beneficial in rural districts, 
where great distance from the parish church seemed to 
need some such agency, without which country people 



104 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

might otherwise grow wholly estranged from religious in- 
fluence ; but he held it unwise to recommend them as 
means of conversion, chiefly because of their dangerous 
tendency to check independent action and interfere with 
the development of personal relationship to the Saviour, 
which he thought the peculiar vocation and privilege of 
a Christian ( Tages-Anbruch, p. 203, sq. and passim). 

He had a strong dislike of shams of every kind and 
form, and regarded private gatherings and conventicles 
as shams, so that persons who had a fondness for them 
did not feel attracted to Ebel, whose turn was eminently 
practical, and whose sole endeavor in social intercourse 
was to give it an ennobling and refining direction in the 
practice of virtue and holiness. 

u If we know Him, the heart revels in the peace which pass- 
eth all understanding, the soul breathes in an atmosphere of 
love, and the mind, sober and watchful in prayer, reflects in 
sunny clearness that wisdom from above which ' is first pure, 
then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy 
and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy.' 
On that account cheerfulness and piety go hand in hand, and 
are necessarily united ; without cheerfulness you cannot have 
true piety, and without piety you cannot be truly cheerful. 
. . . It is very sad that men confound the unction of the 
spiritual life with the sullen and severe seriousness censured 
already in the Old Testament, and wholly incompatible with 
the temper of those who profess to be His followers, who said: 
' But thou when thou fastest anoint thine head and wash thy 
face, that thou appear not unto men to fast,' and justified the 
conduct of the disciples, saying, ' Can the children of the bride- 
chamber mourn as long as the bridegroom is with them ? 
but the days will come when the bridegroom shall be taken 
from them, and then shall they fast.' These words may serve 
us likewise as a standard of joy and sorrow, for, truly, what 



OLD-TOWN CHURCH. 105 

were heaven without a friend, and what were earth without 
one ? So, then, everything- depends upon this, that we have 
or have not that Friend. . . It should be our highest aim 
to strive after joy in the Lord, ' for the joy of the Lord is our 
strength ' (Neh. viii. 10). But I do not mean that sentimental 
form which causes men to talk of their dear Lord who have 
never felt His righteousness and strength in their own hearts. 
There is, nevertheless, a consecration in which a look at once 
noble and gentle, a speech mighty and gracious, like the lamb 
and the lion in harmony commingle. But it cannot be imi- 
tated or put on; it must spring into bloom from health 
within. And as all nature re-echoes joy and delight, provided 
it continue free from human desecration, so man is destined 
to regain his original consecration, to re-awake in the image 
of God that he may truly and eternally rejoice." 

And yet in another place : 

" That is not to worship God acceptably ' for a man to bow 
down his head as a bulrush,' as says the prophet (Is. lviii. 
5). To what purpose are these seemingly devout attitudes ? 
Let us avoid singularity of manner, speech, and conduct, but 
1 with well-doing put to silence the ignorance of foolish men ' 
(1 Pet. ii. 15) ' that they may be ashamed that falsely accuse 
us' {lb. iii. 16). Let every man look straight before him in 
simplicity; let him do what belongs to his vocation and min- 
istry, cheerfully, honestly, and truly, without murmuring or 
doubt, for he that is faithful in that which is least is faithful 
also in much (St. Luke xvi. 10), provided that in everything- 
there appear in an innocent life the reflection of pure nobility 
of soul." 

The principles to which Ebel reduces the whole sub- 
ject are stated thus : 

" Concerning joy and pleasure we say that God permits 
them ; you know that, but you hardly know the full extent to 
which he permits them. Every endowment of our physical 



106 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

and spiritual nature is capable of pleasure ; the exertion of 
each and all may conduce to pleasure, so the name of pleas- 
ure is legion. But in the pursuit of pleasure we must take 
care that we neglect no duty to the detriment of others, and 
understand our interest and profit. For the faculties of 
sense, the pleasure of motion even under the accompaniment 
of sound, the pleasures of taste and smell are low enjoyments; 
the pleasures of the ear and the eye are somewhat, nobler, « 
especially where their exercise is associated with the imagin- 
ation and other faculties of the soul. But enjoyment be- 
comes higher and more exalted when the noblest activity of 
the senses effects a union with all the powers of the soul, 
especially the highest. For the activity of the understanding 
and the contemplations of reason are essentially joyful, 
though they should be misused for mere pastime or amuse- 
ment; but if they bear their part in one grand harmonious 
whole, if heart and will assuring us without contradiction of 
our adoption and heavenly nobility in every act of self-con- 
quest, in every pure and voluntary act of love — unite with it, 
and open the noblest part of our nature to refresh and de- 
light us — who may then portray the ecstasy of joy that fills 
our being, and who would not desire that ail men might 
soon attain this understanding in order to know the true na- 
ture of true joy." 



CHAPTER V. 

SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. 

The characterization of Ebel's ministry at the Old- 
Town Church may be appropriately interrupted to make 
room for an important episode belonging to the year 
1819, which culminated in his separation from Schon- 
herr. 

What Ebel owed to him, and how gratefully he ac- 
knowledged the obligation, has already been stated ; the 
points on which they agreed have also been pointed out ; 
those on which they differed have now to be narrated. 

Their differences sprang from a different disposition. 
Schonherr was dogmatical, positive, impatient of con- 
tradiction, self-willed and self-righteous ; Ebel was re- 
ceptive, tender-hearted, strong-minded, clear, amiable, 
yielding and humble. In all matters relating to personal 
inconvenience, involving self-denial, or the surrender of 
opinion without the sacrifice of principle, he would ex- 
hibit the most engaging and winsome disposition ; but in 
things pertaining to God, in matters of principle and 
conscience, whether they bore on doctrine or practice, 
he knew no compromise or submission ; his convictions, 
based on Holy Scripture and not adopted in formulas of 
party, had so thoroughly interpenetrated the whole texture 
of his nature, that they dominated in all his relations, 

107 



108 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

and stamped them with the impress of the purest Chris- 
tianity ; in everything that departed from the precepts 
of Christ, conflicted with Christian doctrine, or was op- 
posed to the highest ends of religion, his burning zeal 
for the honor of God and his quick, deep-searching, pene- 
trating conscience would be the sole arbiter of choice, 
and compel his course. Not that he was hasty, for he was 
calm, cautious and deliberate ; or obstinate, for he was 
amiable ; or arbitrary, for he was fair ; no, conviction 
and a high sense of duty regulated his actions, and caused 
him to use all the weapons with which his tender, loving 
heart, his singularly clear mind and natural tact furnished 
him, to overcome opposition, and to correct error ; but 
the surrender of conviction he knew not and could not 
know. 

It had not escaped his discriminating judgment that 
there was an element in Schonherr's views, which savoured 
of self, and not of God ; which glaringly contradicted 
the spirit and precepts of Christ and His Apostles. The 
love of Christ was to Ebel the secret spring of the 
Christian life, and faith in His atonement the funda- 
mental condition of the spiritual life.* Schonherr, on 

* " Such a view must not, and cannot make us proud ; the rather, 
he that knows that he is planted by God as a tree of righteousness 
to the praise of God, knows likewise that it is only a blessed com- 
mencement, deeply convinced that he must grow in all things, and 
seek in prayer the aid of Him who hath called him to a holy life, 
and hath forgiven his sins, entreating Him to grant him according to 
the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His spirit 
in the inner man (Eph. iii. 16) and to be zealous of good works 
(Tit. ii. 14). For our sense of obligation is determined by the 
measure of the grace we have received, as the Lord Himself 
declares it in St. Luke vii. 36-48, and this is really the solution of 
the great mystery of our salvation. There is only one motive power 



SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. IO9 

the other hand, indulged in expressions which seemed 
to lessen the person of the Saviour and His atonement ; 
not that he denied their objective reality or in any way 
impugned it ; but he had somehow got astray in their 
bearing on practice, and labored under the hallucination 
that in some way he was an exception to the general 
rule, and stood in peculiar relations to the Father. His 
friends, and among them Ebel, were shocked at this pre- 
tension, and tried to reason with him, without avail. 

of the moral life which strikes deep and incisively into our being, 
just as there is only one vital power which prompts our activity, and 
that power is love (for he that has ceased to love anything, thereby 
intimates his desire to cease living), and this power (for it is a 
power that affects the whole of our being, our will) had to be set in 
motion, in order to effect the permanent cure of the degenerated 
race from all its ailings, and to renovate and restore it to its origi- 
nal purity and rights. But only those do experience within them- 
selves the wholesome effects" of that power, who have come to their 
senses and have become conscious enough to be convinced of their 
sinfulness, and humble enough painfully and profoundly to feel it. 
And that which neither the mandate of duty from within with its 
1 thou shalt,' was unable to achieve, nor the allurements of profit, 
nor the threat of punishment, nor the habit of legal observance — for 
all were unavailing to raise man from the abysmal depths of his 
spiritual misery — that is accomplished by actual love, which from 
the cross proclaims in tender accents : ' Thy sins are forgiven 
thee,' and prompts the resolution : 'Let us love Him, for He 
hath loved us first. ' ' Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also 
to love one another.' And lest in his difficult course we grow 
weary the same love revives our confidence, thus : ' He that spared 
not his own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He 
not with Him also freely give us all things?' (Rom. viii. 32). 
' For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ ; .... for 
therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith ; as 
it is written, The just shall live by faith' (ib. i. 16, 17)." Tages 
Anbruch, pp. 11 3-1 15. 



IIO FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

There was this essential and radical difference in their 
views. Schonherr held that the knowledge of the truth 
was sufficient to accomplish the salvation of the world ; 
Ebel insisted that knowledge, though essential, did in it- 
self not meet the exigencies of the case, and needed to 
be applied to practice, and in that application the help 
of divine grace. An all-important distinction, so clear 
and self-evident that its non-acceptance by so profound 
a thinker as Schonherr remains a psychological riddle. 
But that is exactly how the case stood, when a circum- 
stance arose which needed positive action. 

A certain Dr. Sachs, a Jew, a physician, and after- 
wards a professor in the University of Konigsberg, had 
attended the ministry of Ebel, and desired him to in- 
struct him in the principles of Christianity. Sachs, 
though a man of unusual intellectual ability, was essen- 
tially bad as to morals ; he was carnally-minded, dissolute, 
selfish, and cunning. So the event proved him, and as 
the record of his immorality has been established by 
judicial inquiry, no end of truth or justice could be 
furthered by withholding it from the knowledge of the 
reader. When he came to Ebel he feigned interest in 
religion ; but intercourse with him soon convinced the 
former that he was a slippery subject, by no means fit to 
be received into the church until he had stood the test of 
prolonged probation and given evidence of the sincerity 
of his motives by actual reformation. Schonherr knew 
Sachs, and regarded him differently from Ebel ; he re- 
quested the latter in his instruction to make him familiar 
with his own system, in the expectation that a man of 
Sachs* intellectual strength and metaphysical acumen 
needed only the knowledge of the truth, and that the 
rest would follow of its own accord. Ebel declined to 



SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. Ill 

comply with his request, and insisted that Sachs must 
reform. Schonherr undertook to interfere in the matter, 
and, in a personal interview with Sachs, urged him un- 
successfully to adopt his system. The haughty manner 
in which Sachs met him he foolishly charged on Ebel, 
and resented accordingly. This brought about an 
estrangement which widened into a breach, induced by 
circumstances that require a somewhat longer explana- 
tion. 

Schonherr had fallen into the erroneous and mischiev- 
ous conceit that all persons who had once admitted the 
validity and tenableness of any of his philosophical views 
were tacitly obliged blindly to receive all his dicta, which, 
in many respects, were simply preposterous. All reason- 
ing on them, all counter-representations on the part of 
those whom he regarded as his disciples were useless, be- 
cause he deemed them impertinences, and appeared to 
think that they must forever occupy the seat of learners, 
and he that of teacher. His sensitiveness on this point 
was painful in the extreme to his friends, who tried every- 
thing they could think of to convince him of the error of 
his positions. He could not but see and feel that his in- 
fluence was waning, and that his authority was not recog- 
nized. To re-assert and re-establish it he communi- 
cated to his friends what he appeared to regard as a 
special revelation, that in order to make knowledge of 
saving efficacy Scripture seemed to intimate the neces- 
sity of some outward means of sanctification, and that 
means was — a peculiar kind of flagellation. His friends 
felt — and who can help feeling with them ? — that, on that 
point, his intellect was at fault, and that they must leave 
no means untried to convince him of the absurdity and 
unscripturalness of so extraordinary an expedient. But 



112 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

no amount of kindly expostulation, reasoning, and ap- 
peal to the Scriptures would make him abandon the 
position he had once taken. Contradiction and opposi- 
tion only increased his infatuation and threw him into an 
excitement which sought and found expression in violent 
speech that rendered personal intercourse not only unde- 
sirable, but simply impossible. 

To Ebel, the aberration and spiritual hallucination of 
his old friend was unspeakably painful, and he felt it his 
duty to define his own position, to bring him back to 
reason, and when every step in that direction had proved 
utterly useless, and there seemed no hope to eradicate this 
species of monomania (for monomania it was) from the 
deluded man, to break off all intercouse with him. And 
this he did in an exceedingly beautiful and touching 
letter, which is printed in Count Kanitz's Aufkldrung. 

If it be borne in mind that the deluded Schonherr, 
during the last sad years of his life, looked upon himself 
pretty much in the light of a favorite of heaven invested 
with infallibility, how could Ebel, as a conscientious 
minister and a friend, act otherwise than he did ? He 
could not leave him without telling him why, and he 
would not tell him why he left him without telling him 
the truth, and how delicately, how kindly, and yet how 
firmly he discharged that duty is apparent from this brief 
extract : 

"Dearest brother, you cannot be saved unless you become 
rooted and grounded in the faith. But you are not rooted 
and grounded therein ; you lack humility and gentleness, 
which I trust may be vouchsafed to you. The resolution to 
surrender personal intercourse with you has been the hard- 
est and sorest trial I ever experienced ; I have placed the 
whole matter before God, and for long, weary months have 



SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. 113 

struggled and striven to find another solution, struggled as 
if it were with death, and reached a position in which all per- 
sonal consideration and the promptings of my own will are 
set aside by the will of God in the clear perception of duty. 
. . . Therefore, dear brother, I cannot consent to a re- 
vival of our relations unless I have abundant assurance that 
you have attained to self-knowledge, and the pledge of my 
success in having convinced you of the error of your pro- 
posal. I cannot tell how soon or how late the joy may be in 
store for me of seeing you humbled at the feet of Christ, 
changed from one that exclaims, ' I thank thee, O God, that I 
am not as other men are ! ' into one that cries out, ' God be 
merciful to me a sinner ! ' But of this I am sure, that only in 
this change of disposition can peace enter our heart and bring 
rest to our soul ; that it is the only way to secure peace, and 
that even as I have found it in that way, so you must find it in 
the same manner and by the same means. O, my dear 
friend, beloved Schonherr, how do I yearn to be at one with 
you in heart and soul. Prayerfully, trustfully, I long with 
intensest longing for the coming of that time." 

But all was in vain ; he proved deaf to every entreaty, 
and the breach was irreparable. 

It is not certain that Schonherr even read the letter, 
for it was stated at the time that he burnt it unread ; but 
it is certain that it terminated all personal commerce be- 
tween them. Separation was inevitable under the cir- 
cumstances of the case, and unspeakably painful to Ebel, 
who really loved his misguided, deluded friend, con- 
tinued to watch over him, and anonymously to minister 
to his necessities until he died in 1826. 

The great sorrow caused by the lamentable aberration 
of his friend had to be borne, like all great sorrows, in 
resignation to the will of God, and did not in any way 
interfere with the ever-growing duties of his sacred call- 



114 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

ing in so large a parish. To a man of his strength and 
noble spiritual calibre, in tender sympathy with suffering 
humanity, ready to spend himself and to be spent in the 
Master's service, the condition of the poor, and the ame- 
lioration of their state, afforded scope for the practical 
outgoings of his love. They nocked to him, and he loved 
to remember them for Jesus' sake. Of course, he gave 
the preference to the deserving poor, especially when he 
saw want in situations requiring tact and delicacy in 
the communication of relief. He would quietly provide 
himself, and induce others to provide for poor students 
books, apparel and board. Although it was his studious 
endeavor to discriminate among those who applied for 
relief, he would rather incur the charge of being too 
charitable than of running the risk of refusing a claim. 
His object was to prevent poverty from degenerating 
into pauperism or beggary, and as early as 1818, he 
founded in concert with a noble Christian lady, Frau von 
Auerswald, a charitable work called " Armenpflege," or 
" Care of the poor," the numerous members of which 
were philanthropists of both sexes, belonging to the 
higher and middle classes of society ; the principles on 
which relief was administered to every form of misery 
were so admirable and beneficial that they were speedily 
adopted by a similar charitable association instituted by 
others. These principles were briefly : domiciliary vis- 
itation by judicious and kindly folk ; the withholding of 
gifts from beggars until their case had been verified by 
personal investigation. The plan proved wonderfully 
successful, not only in the application of temporary relief, 
but in providing permanent means of support in the sup- 
ply of appropriate work, and in giving their children a 
free education in schools specially arranged for the pur- 



SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. 115 

pose ; in that way the deserving poor were, by their own 
industry aided to comfortable circumstances, without the 
loss of self-respect. The whole enterprise was inspired 
by a loving zeal for the amelioration of the physical and 
moral condition of the poor, in which all the members 
sought to emulate each other in devising practical ex- 
pedients for the accomplishment of their noble purpose. 
Poor mechanics were either presented with the tools of 
their trade, or loans of money were granted, enabling 
them to resume their trade ; and their children, if their 
ability warranted the measure, were cared for until they 
were qualified to enter the university. Another feature 
was the rigid requirement that applicants for relief should 
be truthful ; where relief had been secured on false pre- 
tence, it could not be repeated. It seemed wisdom to 
deal with them as parents deal with their children, mak- 
ing their manner of using the gifts they received the 
measure of their continuance. Relief at stated intervals 
was not accorded to any until they had given evidence 
of ability to husband their resources. The blessed in- 
fluence of that " Armenpflege " on the morals of neglect- 
ed youth was universally recognized. The interest 
exhibited by the lady members in the welfare of mem- 
bers of their own sex by teaching them the various 
branches of needlework found speedy appreciation in 
the founding of an Industrial School. It was in every 
sense a blessed work ; and Ebel, in concert with his 
friend Diestel, was instrumental in the establishment, 
at a somewhat later period, of Schools for the Poor. 

He took the most lively interest in schools, and was 
always ready to aid in their prosperity and improvement ; 
for he loved youth ; and the way in which he explains 
his interest is as touching as it is simple : 



Il6 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

" ' Suffer the little children to come unto me, and forbid 
them not, for of such is the kingdom of God.' So He 
thought, adding : ' Verily I say unto you, whosoever shall 
not receive the kingdom of God as a little child, he shall not 
enter therein ; ' that conveys a lesson to you which requires 
no further explanation. But if you wish to know the best 
method of training them for heaven learn once more from 
Him : ' And He took them up in His arms, put His hands 
upon them and blessed them ' (St. Mark x. 14-16), for love 
is the fulfilment of the law." 

It was at his instance, in concert with Diestel, that a 
competent teacher was sent to England (with money pro- 
vided for the purpose by Count Donhoff), to study the 
Bell-Lancaster method, and to arrange the Schools for 
the Poor on their model. 

The limits of his parish extended beyond the city, and 
embraced a rural district inhabited by a mixed popula- 
tion with a large, sprinkling of poor people. The Com- 
mon School System which provides a free education to 
the whole community, was until recently an essentially 
American institution. In Germany, where education is 
now compulsory, there was at the period in question much 
room for improvement, and "the school-money" was 
the great stumbling-block in the way of the poor to give 
their children a school education. In order to stimulate 
the love of the school among his country parishioners, 
he told them that if they would send their children reg- 
ularly to school he would see that " the school-money " 
was paid ; this told, and he further encouraged them by 
providing them with school-books and bibles. The 
school was at a considerable distance from the dwell- 
ings of a number of poor people, so that the scant cloth- 
ing of the children presented another difficulty during 



SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. 117 

the intense cold of the winter months ; in order to over- 
come it, and to provide likewise for books, etc., he ex- 
cited an interest in their condition among citizens of 
Konigsberg who during the summer were in the habit 
to move to the Hufen (the rural district in question), 
and founded the Hufe7i-Schul- Verein (The Hufen School 
Association) with very satisfactory results. Thus in ame- 
liorating the condition of the poor he likewise promoted 
a new source of happiness in the hearts of the wealthy. 

Ebel's love of youth and interest in education were so 
intense that he was ever ready to assume new voluntary 
duties in that direction. There was, e. g., a select private 
school for youth of both sexes, conducted by Director 
Ullrich, which justly enjoyed the reputation of great ex- 
cellence, and was chiefly patronized by people of the 
highest culture, belonging to the best classes of society. 
His own children attended that school, and he under- 
took, in addition to his multifarious duties, to conduct 
the religious instruction in it, devoting to each depart- 
ment several hours a week, to the great and lasting spir- 
itual benefit of the pupils, who almost worshipped their 
kind teacher and friend. 

To a man of Ebel's make, social intercourse and the 
culture of friendship were unspeakably precious. On 
the subject of friendship this passage from " Gedeihliche 
Erziehung" p. no sq., will be read with interest. 

" A true friend is a great boon ; he that has one has a great 
treasure, and the friendship which Jesus offers us surpasses 
all the treasures of this world. But that friendship will prove 
a failure unless we co-operate with Him ; co-operation is 
necessary to its enjoyment, for friendship is a reciprocal rela- 
tion. Inquire into its nature, reflect that it necessarily in- 
volves mutual confidence and mutual responses, and active 



Il8 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

co-operation, and you will find the reason why this true 
friendship and the cheerfulness that follows in its train are so 
rarely met with ; why just the most spiritually-minded men 
are often, for that very reason, so ineffably unhappy ; why you 
yourself are sometimes so dejected and capricious. You 
cannot do violence to your nature without injury to your- 
self." 

What he means is that the culture and promotion of 
true friendship is an oft-neglected element of our own 
happiness ; but if we joy in the possession of that true 
"friend that sticketh closer than a brother," of whose 
sympathy and unfailing help we are ever sure, we are 
blesse'd indeed. And the friendship of Jesus is, after all, 
the pattern of all earthly friendship. 

Ebel had good cause to know the vast difference of 
mere earth-born friendship and friendship engendered 
by the love of Christ. It was his sad lot to be injuri- 
ously entreated by untrue friends, "who took sweet 
counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in 
company " (Ps. lv. 14), but his vastly greater felicity to 
be blessed with a number of true, devoted friends, of 
many a Jonathan who "loved him as his own soul" (1 
Sam. xviii. 1), who clave to him with an intensity of 
attachment rarely met with, and perhaps never eclipsed, 
as I shall have occasion to show in the sequel. Mag- 
nanimity was one of his shining virtues ; he loved to ex- 
patiate on the excellencies of men, to rehearse and pub- 
lish their acts of kindness, and to cover with the mantle 
of his love their shortcomings and the injuries they had 
inflicted. 

He was fond of congenial society, and encouraged 
social gatherings, not of the trivial, unprofitable sort, not 
for gossip and that into which gossip so often degene- 



SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS 1 19 

rates, censoriousness and slander, but gatherings designed 
for higher and nobler ends. It was not so much the 
discussion of persons as of things, of specific topics re- 
lating to the grand and passing events of the period, with 
duties springing from them, for immediate use and appli- 
cation in the outward relations of life, but chiefly and 
supremely as bearing on the culture of the soul. 

He had come in direct contact with the very best peo- 
ple at Konigsberg in every sense of the word ; there 
were the Auerswalds and Schrotters, who led society ; 
the head of the Auerswald circle was the governor of the 
province, and the venerable Schrotter its chancellor. 
Their very position indicated the highest social rank and 
intellectual superiority, and when they began to encour- 
age the indefatigable zeal of the eloquent, soul-stirring 
preacher of the Old-Town Church by cultivating intimate 
social relations with him, they encouraged and fostered a 
new spirit that entered and animated the whole complex 
of society. The soul of the new spirit was Ebel, ever 
prompting and stimulating the noblest purposes. It was 
an unheard-of thing in those days that topics of religion 
were not only tolerated but deliberately started on festal 
occasions. A spirit of earnest inquiry had entered into 
the minds of men, and prompted expression when they 
assembled in numbers. It must not be imagined that 
festal assemblies were metamorphosed into religious gath- 
erings, or that religious themes were thrust upon reluct- 
ant ears. It was nothing of the kind ; it was the spon- 
taneous utterance of deep heart-yearnings. Groups of 
ladies and gentlemen would discuss with great earnest- 
ness the momentous themes of renovation and the des- 
tiny of man, and bystanders would take part in the dis- 
cussion. Even young people would debate such matters, 



120 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

and on one occasion when the venerable Chancellor and 
an old lady of his acquaintance had attentively followed 
their interesting conversation, the latter exclaimed, sur- 
prised : " Just to think of the topics our youth now select 
for discussion in public ; who would ever have thought 
of such a thing when we were young ! " to which the 
former replied with great warmth : " Nobody ; but it is 
beautiful ! " 

One of the topics of the times, of profound interest to 
the most thoughtful, was the establishment of the kingdom 
of God upon earth. It was presented one day by Ebel 
before a select circle in the Chancellor's house, with his 
usual vivacity and earnestness, and as he portrayed the 
felicity of its establishment and adduced passage upon 
passage from the Word of God, the venerable Schrotter, 
profoundly moved, held out his hand to him and said : 
"Would that I might rise to enjoy that blissful time ! " 

It is very natural that the intimate friends of Ebel 
were persons of an intellectual and spiritual turn. The 
manner in which this social element sprang into being 
and became developed is stated best in his own words : 

" I had resolved to obey God and be an honest teacher. In 
this spirit I preached and met those who entered into the 
spirit of Christianity and sought me for counsel and encour- 
agement. In that way a few became my intimate friends. 
Every clergyman is bound first to attend to his own soul, and 
then to urge upon his people the same culture. Those who 
feel that want, and are responsive to the word of exhortation, 
natually seek intercourse with their pastor, and there must be 
in all congregations, served by truly honest pastors, a small 
band of such persons, who are, as it were, the salt of the con- 
gregation, in whom a truly Christian life, based on mutual 
union, develops according to the peculiar wants and qualifi- 
cations of each individual. Where such is not the case the 



SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. 121 

flock is asleep and the pastor spiritually dead. The ministry- 
is not a trade, in which sermons and official acts are dis- 
patched by the hour ; a preacher must strive to infuse into 
his congregation, and, as far as his influence goes, into his 
time, an ennobling spirit. I have striven to foster such a 
spirit in my congregation and in this city, with the result that 
certain persons advanced to a higher plane of the Christian life 
and came into more intimate relations to me." 

As these persons happened to occupy likewise a very 
high social position, the commanding influence of Ebel 
was peculiarly obnoxious to other clergymen who did 
not and could not wield it themselves, and laid him open 
to the approaches of self-seekers, who sought to further 
their own private ends by pretended sympathy with his 
views, so largely shared by very influential and promi- 
nent members of society, with whom they hoped to be- 
come connected in the charmed circle that had gathered 
round Ebel. 

Of that make were three persons in particular, to whom 
I must now refer. The first, Dr. Sachs, has already been 
mentioned. Ebel penetrated him from the start as a 
man of very dubious morality, and hesitated a consider- 
able time before he received him into the church, but 
when under his instruction he awoke to better self-knowl- 
edge and vowed amendment, Ebel felt it his duty to 
comply with his earnest request to admit him, his wife, 
and a young child by baptism into the church. Sachs 
had chosen as his sponsors Count and Countess Kanitz, 
two intimate friends of Ebel, and endowed with a rare 
combination of intellectual strength and culture as well 
as of the purest Christian goodness of heart ; they were 
truly pure in heart, and as good and kind as they were 
pure. As I have read their life, and have had oppor- 
6 



122 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

tunity to know how they thought and felt, I feel con- 
strained to say that their lives exhibited many of the 
graces mentioned in the beatitudes, and their love much 
of what St. Paul beautifully delineates in i Corinthians 
xiii. The Sachs family was baptized in 1818, and the 
doctor numbered among his patients not only Ebel and 
Kanitz, but a large number of their friends and acquaint- 
ance ; and, if he had been a true man and not a dissem- 
bler, it would not have become necessary on their part 
to sunder their relations with him. But he was incor- 
rigible, and his course so notorious and scandalous that, 
after every attempt had failed to effect his true reforma- 
tion, they were obliged, after seven years of endurance, 
to dismiss him in 1825. 

The second person in question was Professor Herr- 
mann Olshausen, the commentator, who, in the autumn 
of 182 1, came to Konigsberg, and felt much interested 
in Ebel's preaching. After attending his ministry for 
eight or nine months he came into nearer relations with 
him, "and heard," as he expresses it, " earnest exhorta- 
tions to a holy, self-denying life in his circle." He also 
was a self-seeker, and, I am sorry to say, a contemptible 
individual ; this will be shown in the sequel, and is 
proved in "Die Liebe zur Wahrheit" Standpunkt, p. liii. 
sqq. For the present the statement must suffice that he 
did not frequent Ebel's church because he really sympa- 
thized with him, although he pretended such sympathy 
for several years, but because he hoped that the connec- 
tion with Ebel and his influential friends might facilitate 
his promotion to a professorship. 

The third person was a theological student of the name 
of Tippelskirch, who, early orphaned, had found a home 
in the family of Count Kanitz, and received there, as well 



SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. 1 23 

as at the hands of Ebel, an unmeasured amount of good. 
He was an unruly and unmanageable boy, who needed 
the most careful and watchful oversight, but it seemed 
that the excellent ministrations of Kanitz and Ebel had 
so far borne good fruit, that the latter especially felt 
hopeful that the instruction preparatory to his confirma- 
tion would deepen his religious convictions. But when 
he attended the university he fell into bad and dissolute 
ways, and years passed on before he returned to serious- 
ness. In the year 1822, however, he began to change 
and yield to the good advice of his kind friends with 
gratifying results, as far as his outward behavior was 
concerned. It was now his interest, as he clearly per- 
ceived, to re-establish their good opinion and to work 
himself into their confidence and friendship. And they 
were only too glad to welcome the prodigal, and put 
coals of fire on his head in the hope that love would 
carry the day. It was misplaced, for he had added to 
his other failings the vice of duplicity. 

Matters stood thus until a change in the provincial 
governorship took place in 1824, when von Auerswald 
was retired and von Schon appointed in his stead. The 
latter was as inimical to religion as the former had been 
in favor of it. Schon was not only irreligious, but an 
unscrupulous and unprincipled man. A single, but most 
glaring instance, may suffice to substantiate this state- 
ment. He had been married to a daughter of his prede- 
cessor, who died in 1807 ; another daughter, Eveline 
Ernestine, had married the Rural Councillor von Barde- 
leben. She had been awakened to religious convictions 
by Ebel, and was a noble-minded and devoted Christian. 
When Schon heard of it he began to resent it by de- 
nouncing her as a fanatic and a sectarian to her own 



124 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

husband, and so worked upon his mind that, after six- 
teen years of a happy married life, he induced that hus- 
band to seek a divorce, which, with the laxity of the 
Prussian code on that subject, was obtained. But that 
was not all ; in his hatred of Christianity he tore from 
that poor and almost frantic wife her only daughter, and 
very soon afterwards gave one of his own daughters 
in marriage to the very man who, at his instance and 
through his instrumentality, had been divorced from his 
wife. These revolting facts may be read at length in the 
following works : " Ein Blick auf die einstige Stellung der 
Oberprdsidenten Auerswald und Schon" etc., by E. E. 
von Bardeleben ; "Die Liebe zur Wahrheit" by Ida 
Grafin von der Groben (sister of the former), and Ka- 
nitz's "Aufkldrung." Schon hated all religion, and was 
utterly heathenish in his views and his practice ; he had 
not the faintest idea of Christianity beyond the instinc- 
tive feeling that it is the funeral toll of paganism and 
pagans like himself ; he hated Ebel and his teaching, and 
all that consorted with him or frequented his ministry, for 
no other reason than that the purity of the preacher and 
the translucent character of his doctrine set his own 
conduct and character in so unenviable a light. He was 
determined to crush out Ebel and his teaching, and how 
he set to work will now be told. 

The Old-Town Church, in which Ebel ministered, has 
been referred to in a previous chapter. How his popu- 
larity was regarded by most of the clergy who abominated 
his doctrine has likewise been abundantly illustrated ; 
the animus of the Deputation also will be remembered ; 
that Body desired above all things to get rid of Ebel, and 
had tried ineffectually to compass their purpose. Now 
it so happened that the government officer charged with 



SCHONIIERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. 1 25 

the inspection of all public buildings was inimical to the 
theology of Ebel, and it was thought that with the ad- 
vent of Schon something might be done which would 
effectually check, if not completely destroy the growing 
influence of the preacher of grace. And that something 
was nothing less than the demolition of the venerable 
church, which for more than five centuries had stood 
firm under the gnawing tooth of time, in spite of a slight 
inclination of the tower, which for centuries had been 
measured every fifty years in order to determine whether 
the angle of inclination was growing. But as each suc- 
cessive technical examination showed that the angle re- 
mained unchanged, experts had reached the conclusion 
that the settling dated from the erection of the structure, 
and that the slight deviation from the perpendicular was 
not by any means dangerous. But the said inspector 
condemned the structure as early as 1823, and would 
have rased it, if he could have had his own way in the 
matter. But Governor Auerswald, to whom the congre- 
gation referred it, was too just a man to yield to the 
arbitrary demand of a single individual, and at their in- 
stance, procured from Berlin a commission of experts, 
acting under the highest authority in the State, who upon 
thorough examination, negatived the inspector's proposal, 
and recommended, in order that no precautionary meas- 
ure might be neglected, an alteration in the roof on one 
of the gable ends, which the congregation caused imme- 
diately to be made. While the repairs were going on 
the church was closed for service, which had to be con- 
ducted in other church edifices. But the inspector dis- 
regarding the decision of his superiors, would not allow 
the church to be opened for worship after the repairs had 
been made with a heavy expenditure to the congregation, 



126 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

whose finances were in a crippled condition ; he was 
interposing all sorts of objections and official chicanery 
in order to accomplish his purpose. At this juncture 
Schon arrived in 1824, and he and the inspector agreed 
upon a plan to accomplish the work of demolition. One 
of Schon's first official acts was an order directing the 
authorities of the Old-Town Church to pull down the 
condemned edifice within a fortnight. " There were 
churches enough," he said, " in Konigsberg, and as the 
congregation was too poor to build a new one, it had 
better be dissolved." The work of demolition was indeed 
temporarily arrested by the representation of experts that 
a much longer space of time was needed to take down 
the beautiful organ, one of the finest in Germany, and 
the energetic opposition of the congregation at whose 
request a second commission was sent from Berlin, to 
report upon the condition of the building. But in spite 
of their report, supported by other persons of influence, 
that the alleged fears of the inspector were unfounded, 
and that there was no danger, the hostile element suc- 
ceeded in getting an order from the Supreme Building 
Commission at Berlin requiring the church to be closed 
for a year, during which time careful observations were 
to be made to determine the possibility of its continuance. 
The inspector pursued a most extraordinary plan in con- 
ducting that observation. There was a particular pillar, 
which he had pronounced defective, and in order to 
ascertain whether his position was tenable, he caused the 
ground to be dug away from the pillar on all sides to 
a depth at which it stood entirely in water, and was 
wholly without support ; the result of this unique exam- 
ination was, of course, inevitable ; the pillar finally gave 
way, the whole edifice became crazy, and the work of 



SCHOXHERR AXD FALSE FRIEXDS. 1 27 

demolition became an imperative necessity. The pagan 
Schon had accomplished his purpose as far as the de- 
struction of that beautiful edifice was concerned, but 
beyond that he could not go at the time, for Ebel, though 
compelled to officiate in a church at a greater distance, 
had the satisfaction to see his congregation follow him 
there, and to become more devotedly attached to him 
than before. 

Trouble, like misery, loves company. About the same 
time, the Ministerium for Ecclesiastical Affairs at Berlin 
issued a Circular Rescript addressed to all the Consis- 
tories of the Prussian Monarchy, warning them against 
Mysticism, Pietism and Separatism, and requesting 
special attention to the matter in filling vacancies in 
churches and schools. This Rescript became known at 
Konigsberg early in 1826, and one evening at the house 
of Count Kanitz, Ebel referring to it, told Olshausen and 
Tippelskirch that it was an inimical document, designed, 
among other things, to strike a blow at evangelical Chris- 
tianity. There was no doubt that their theological op- 
ponents, aided by Schon, would leave no stone unturned 
under the authority of that edict to hurt the cause of true 
religion ; that a period of probation was about to begin, 
and he deemed it his duty to tell them that, if they 
elected to stay with him, their worldly prospects might 
be injured, and it became them now to determine whether 
they would leave him and escape the persecution which 
remaining with him was sure to ( ntail ; if they felt that 
their intimate relations had better cease, he hoped that it 
might not affect their friendship for him, assuring them 
that he would not on that account withdraw his affection 
from them. Their manner of receiving the intelligence was 
embarrassed and shuffling, and lacked sincerity ; it was 



128 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

the first intimation of their defection, and Ebel, who 
would hardly have spoken to them as he did, if he had 
felt quite sure of them, penetrated their motives that 
night, and the event showed that he had not wronged 
them. But their separation was not effected in the spirit 
recommended by Ebel ; that would not have done ; it 
would have proclaimed to all the world their selfishness 
and time-serving ; it would have been a public declara- 
tion that as long as the friendship of Ebel was profitable 
to them they adhered to him and were his enthusiastic 
admirers and devoted followers, and that at the first in- 
dication of his waning power in influential quarters they 
had abandoned him. That would have unmasked them 
and proclaimed them unprincipled. So they preferred 
playing the hypocrite a little longer, and cast about for 
an excuse designed to justify their conduct in the eye of 
the public. The Ministerial Rescript seemed to fore- 
shadow the proper policy leading to preferment ; it had 
sounded the alarm about separatistic tendencies ; the ma- 
jority of the Konigsberg Clergy, the Consistorium, and 
the Governor were notoriously inimical to Ebel's the- 
ology, branding it as heretical and sectarian. If it could 
be made out that Ebel was a sectary, and they opposed 
to his sectarian tendencies, they would accomplish two 
things : first, give a plausible and seemingly meritorious 
explanation of their separation from him, and secondly, 
secure the favor of those opposed to Ebel, who in virtue 
of their influence might help them to preferment. That 
was their plan and policy, and Olshausen set to work to 
give it shape. So he wrote a long letter addressed to 
Ebel, in which he told him that it was impossible for him 
any longer to submit to a hierarchical guardianship, the 
authority whereof, lacking as it did the signs of an im- 



SCHONHERR AND FALSE FRIENDS. 1 29 

mediate or direct revelation, he was constrained to call 
in question ; that the absorption of his own (O.'s) indi- 
viduality in that of Ebel was a thing not to be borne, 
more especially as he thought that in Ebel's " direction 
of souls misleading elements were neither avoided in 
practice, nor in the principles underlying it." If the 
reader is at a loss to understand this vague language, 
which, if intended to conceal thought, might have been 
written by Talleyrand, he may console himself in the 
thought, that it was just as unintelligible to Ebel and his 
friends, who could construe it only one way, namely, that 
it meant desertion and treachery, and base treachery, for 
his true motive was to ingratiate himself into the favor of 
influential persons inimical to Ebel, who on that account 
might reward him. 

This is quite clear from the express language of Tip- 
pelskirch, who undertook to deliver this letter to Ebel, 
with the tenor of which he professed to agree, to this 
effect, " that there was nothing to prevent the contin- 
uance of his friendly relations to Ebel and his friends ? 
and to walk with them in what he felt constrained to 
describe as a Christian way of excellent conscientious- 
ness and purity, but the circumstance that they had not 
been publicly authenticated, for he could not possibly 
expect the ecclesiastical authority to advance him to a 
position if he were to maintain friendly relations with 
Ebel," etc. As this statement is in writing, and forms 
part of officially accepted evidence, it is not necessary to 
enlarge upon it, although it is quite pertinent to corrob- 
orate the assertion by the testimony of the judicial officer 
charged with the official inquiry, also accepted as evi- 
dence that " it is universally known that Ebel and Ols- 
hausen were until 1826 on terms of intimate friendship. 
6* 



13° FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

In that year they separated, and as public opinion de- 
livers it, solely and entirely because Olshausen thought 
thereby to secure a professorship in the university." 

The unimpeachable statement of my late friend, Count 
Kanitz, may conclude the record of so painful an inci- 
dent : 

" It is impossible to convey to those who did not participate 
in these events, an idea of the icy insincerity with which the 
said Olshausen and Tippelskirch suddenly dropped the mask 
of hypocrisy, after they had for months feigned the most ar- 
dent friendship, while they were working out their plan, and 
in lieu of their pretended recognition of Ebel's Christian ex- 
perience, rose up to teach and preach to him, who, by their 
own confession, had taught them to find the way to Christ 
This conduct, doing violence to all human feeling, was re- 
garded by Ebel with forgiving and forgetting love, in which 
he refused to see anything but a straying aside, and for which 
he strove to find extenuating circumstances and excuses." 

What a contrast, and how beautiful in the light of 
those occurrences, followed by infinitely worse, are these 
words from a letter of Ebel to his friend, Professor 
Rogge, of Tubingen, dated Jan. 2, 1827 : 

"Just think, dear August, since the last communion the 
Friend above has so entirely taken possession of and filled 
my heart, that I can only exult and praise His grace, and in 
that grace feel the tenderest love for those who have offended 
me. Oh ! that does me good ! Love them too, and do not 
give place to the feeling that thou art not able to call Herr- 
mann * Brother.' The only consolation is, that we do not let 
them go." 



CHAPTER VI. 

NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 

Though, from the nature of the case, chronological 
order could not be strictly observed in the chapters char- 
acterizing the ministry of Ebel, it has been followed in 
the main. In order to understand what follows it is now 
necessary to explain the social religious life in the Old- 
Town Church and to supply a portraiture of the most 
prominent persons. 

The cultivation of the social life of a congregation is 
an acknowledged factor of ministerial usefulness, and 
every clergyman understands that much of his success 
depends on its proper conduct. There are likewise, es- 
pecially in large congregations, persons drawn to each 
other by common interest as to habits of life and thought, 
and certain degrees of culture, refinement and station. 
The common interest of the members of the Old-Town 
Church was a strongly marked and positively pronounced 
spirituality, and a distinct recognition of the hallowing 
power of the religion of Jesus in all the relations of life, 
and seeing that these distinctively Christian views were 
far from general in society at Konigsberg, they felt the 
necessity of drawing nearer to each other in an informal 
manner at gatherings, which differed from ordinary social 
gatherings, in that it was agreed by them to substitute 
for the conventional dance, card-playing and unprofitable 

131 



132 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

gossip, the discussion of rational subjects, of scientific^ 
philosophical, theological and general interest, and to 
diversify 'matters by the introduction of music and the 
reading of instructive essays and books. It was a de- 
lightful circle in every respect. Ebel was the centre 
round whom they grouped, but as his versatile genius 
has been sufficiently described in the preceding chapters, 
and as the reader can readily form his own judgment 
from the particulars already furnished, I need not dwell 
here at greater length on his eminent social graces and 
inspiring influence. There was the Rev. Georg Hein- 
rich Diestel, pastor of the Haberberg Church, an in- 
timate and devoted friend of Ebel, a devout, noble- 
minded, lion-hearted man, through and through con- 
vinced of the inherent power of the Gospel, and animat- 
ed by indomitable zeal, earnestness and courage. He 
and Ebel were very old friends, and although he had 
always been a sound man, /. e. not a rationalist, the pre- 
cepts, the teaching and the living example of the latter, 
according to his own testimony,* had deepened and 
strengthened his personal relations to Christ. Brought 
up in the school of Herbart, he abandoned the incon- 
sistencies of that philosophy, and rooted his own in that 
of the Bible. A single sentence may suffice to character- 
ize the man : 

"Truth bears testimony to itself, and scorns all other 
demonstrations. As the sun needs no demonstration that he 
is light and not darkness, so truth needs no other demonstra- 
tion than that of its own existence ; but as the sun shines 
only to those who see and are awake, and not to those who 
are blind and asleep, so truth likewise shines only to those 
who are receptive for it." 



Mahnwort. 



p. 99. 



NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 1 33 

His was an eminently metaphysical turn, and he un- 
derstood to state the keenest analysis in clear, incisive 
and singularly open language. He was a thoroughly 
practical Christian, a warm personal friend and a 
charming companion, intensely musical, and his com- 
positions both solemn and hilarious possessed great merit. 
A piece of his composing on Psalm cxviii., arranged 
for four voices with his accompaniment on the piano is 
pronounced by good judges as something wondrously 
beautiful ; the same applies to Psalm cxxvi. 

Ernst Wilhelm, Count of Kanitz,* the true and devoted 
friend of Ebel, was truly a nobleman in the best accepta- 
tion of the term. As he was his oldest friend, and sur- 
vived him upwards of eight years, so he remained his 
friend unto death and beyond it, as will appear hereafter. 
He was a native of Konigsberg, highly educated, an emi- 
nent jurist, a gallant soldier, and last, not least, a consist- 
ent, devoted Christian, an ornament of society, and a 
bright and shining light of the Old-Town Church, while 
he was there, and of the Church of Christ, wherever he 
was. An obituary notice, printed in the Neue Preussische 
Zeitung, Berlin Dec. 24, 1869, and written by an anony- 
mous friend, contains this summary of his character : 

"Whoever knew the departed will recall with feelings of 
delight the modest dignity of his earthly conversation, and — • 
as the manner of the Spirit is — the silent energy of his power- 
ful working. To practise love, to prepare joy to others, and 
to do good was his vital breath ( Athemholen). When in the 
exercise of justice he had to administer rebuke, or punish 
wrong where it had to be resisted, like a genuine disciple of 
Jesus, he never fell from humility and gentleness. The in- 
scription on his tomb : 'The Lord is risen indeed,' indicates 
and characterizes the strength of his faith.'' 

* See p. 121. 



134 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

Fortiter in re, suaviter in modo was Kanitz, an admirable 
companion, sparkling in conversation, overflowing with a 
fund of the most varied attainments, and not only- re- 
ceptive to whatever was good and beautiful, but com- 
municative of the same, a man of exquisite taste (he was 
a painter)* and unbounded hospitality. He was married 
twice. His first wife, Minna von Derschau, a lady of 
the noblest and purest make, goodness personified, living, 
moving and having her whole being in God, is described 
by all who knew her, as a most devoted Christian, en- 
riched with peculiar attractions and graces, intellectual 
and otherwise, a messenger of goodness, an angel of 
mercy among the sick and poor, one of the brightest 
gems in the diadem of the Old-Town Church. She died 
after only two years' marriage, a youthful mother, in the 
thirty-first year of her life, universally beloved and 
regretted ; ten days later her precious babe joined her 
in paradise, just as if he had heard the mother's call and 
hastened to her embrace. Her sister, who lived with the 
Count, when he died (her own death occurred nine years 
later), like all the members of the Derschau family, was 
an exemplary Christian ; and it was one of the privileges 
enjoyed by the writer, to number that noble lady among 
his correspondents. Kanitz's second wife, Charlotte 
Countess Fink von Finkenstein, an intimate and obliged 
friend of Minna, married him in 1827, and humility 
was one of the predominant traits of that highly gifted, 
charitable and generous Christian lady. Of her humil- 
ity perhaps the most striking illustration is her life- 
long endeavor to keep green the cherished memory of 

* I have in my possession some beautiful specimens of his 
genius, flowers painted from nature in Italy, Sicily and the Tyrol ; 
they are exquisite. 



NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 1 35 

the sainted first Countess ; she always thought of and 
for others, and never for herself ; a most gracious and 
hospitable hostess, loving and delighting to render all — 
and their name is legion — that crossed her threshold 
happy, bountiful in providing for the bodily and intel- 
lectual wants of her guests, indefatigable in labors of love, 
and uniting with her noble husband in countless benefac- 
tions. Such were Count and Countess von Kanitz ; the 
good Count likewise was my friend and correspondent. 

Of Auerswalds I have already spoken in general terms. 
A few additional details appear to be in place here, and 
will be found of interest. The head of this noble family 
was the Landhofmeister and Oberprasident (/. <?., the 
Provincial Governor) von Auerswald, a name which at 
Konigsberg, and throughout Prussia, has a golden ring ; 
he was a most excellent, patriotic public officer, univer- 
sally beloved and respected, and his fame in all these and 
so many other respects is so well known in the annals of 
history, that no words of mine are needed to repeat here 
what everybody knows ; but it is not generally known, 
that during the years of Germany's great degradation, 
1 806-1809, king Friedrich Wilhelm III., Louise his 
queen, and her children, the late king Friedrich Wil- 
helm IV., and the present Emperor of Germany lived 
with Auerswalds in the Castle of Konigsberg, and that 
thus the latter became the personal friends of the Auers- 
wald children. All the Auerswalds were friends of Ebel, 
but signally and singularly so the two daughters, Eveline 
Ernestine von Bardeleben, and Ida, Countess von der 
Groben. These two noble ladies were, under the teach- 
ing of Ebel, brought to the knowledge of Jesus, and two 
more devoted women, in doing and suffering, have seldom 
lived. The sad trials of the former have already been 



136 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

alluded to,* how through the influence of the pagan 
Schon her husband cruelly discarded her. Her parents 
were then no more on earth, but the truth that God 
never forsakes His people was beautifully illustrated 
in her experience. The sainted Mrs. Chancellor von 
Sch rotter, another saint on earth in Ebel's church, gave 
her a home, and tenderly nursed her and provided for 
all her wants, until in 1845 sne went out of great tribula- 
tion into the rest that remaineth for the people of God. 
Of Mrs. von Schrotter and her family, something will be 
said presently. 

But it is especially her sister Ida, Countess von der 
Groben, who claims our attention in a peculiar measure. 
Of the noble array of Christians in that extraordinary 
congregation, already likened to a diadem, Countess Ida 
was the pearl. Beautiful in person, mind and soul, em- 
bodied truth and goodness, to see and know was to 
love her. Quick in perception and learning, studious 
and a student, she was simply a marvel for intelligence 
and versatile attainments. Thoroughly educated, her 
studies ranged through realms of thought and informa- 
tion rarely traversed by ladies. She was a theologian and 
a metaphysician of no mean order (and no man who has 
read her Liebe zur Wahrheit will dispute it, or ever open 
Olshausen's Commentary again), an excellent classic, 
her soul was steeped in music, and she had the gift of a 
sweet, melodious voice ; she was a poet born, and the 
posthumous volume of her poems is equal to any of the 
kind in the German tongue ; her poems on the Church 
Seasons remind me of Keble in thought and expression, 
others of Cowper for tenderness, and for the love of 

* See pp. 123-124. 



NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 1 37 

nature of Wordsworth (of none of whom she ever saw or 
read a line), and they are one and all as fine as gold, 
pure as a crystal fountain, reflecting the truth, the love, 
the goodness and purity of her God-devoted soul. In 
Appendix C will be found two or three of her briefer 
pieces ; they must stand as they are in German, to be 
translated by a Christian poet kin to the author in genius 
and feeling. She was also an exquisite hand at drawing. 
Early schooled in sorrow, for her husband, William 
Count von der Groben, First Lieutenant of the East 
Prussian Cuirassiers, fell near Gross Gorschen, 1813, and 
she returned, a youthful widow, to her parents, and 
through the influence of Ebel, who was their pastor, her 
heart and soul, her work and life, were consecrated to 
the service of Jesus. This child of God was of medium 
height and noble carriage, light brown hair covering a 
noble forehead, her regular features, beautiful com- 
plexion, heightened by a tint of delicate red in the 
cheeks, and animated by the profound earnestness of 
her innocent, deep blue and true eyes were accompanied 
by loveliness, a sweet voice, vivacity and dignified en- 
gaging manners. Her intimate surviving friend, who 
knew and loved her better than any one, communicated 
to me two years ago the following passages from the 
biography of the Electress Louise von Brandenburg 
(author of the famous hymn, Jesus Meine Zuversicht*), 
which in her opinion are an exact portraiture of the 
character of the Countess Ida: "Like a peculiar, 
choice and great blessing she had entered the house and 
the country — and like a continuous, ever new blessing, 
she worked on in the house and the country — and all 

* See Appendix C. 



138 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

the blessings she dispensed, all the happiness which went 
out from her to others, and all the loveliness with which 
she conquered and won the hearts of men were solely- 
founded on and welled forth from her living faith which 
united her to her Saviour. Outwardly and inwardly she 
lived in the grace of the Lord ; she had laid hold of Him, 
and would not let Him go." Other particulars concern- 
ing this excellent lady will be found below. 

Edward von Hahnenfeld, likewise an intimate and 
Christian friend of Ebel, of long standing, was a noble- 
minded man. Early orphaned, he was sent to a Pension 
in Konigsberg, where he was roughly treated ; the only 
sunny days of his gloomy youthful existence were the 
Sundays and other days spent with the Auerswald chil- 
dren. Ebel befriended him, for he was his pupil at 
Frederic College, and took a warm interest in his wel- 
fare. On the day of his confirmation the Governor 
desired his daughter, the Countess Ida, to go to church 
in order that there might at least be one person present 
there who went on his account. After that solemn ser- 
vice young Hahnenfeld kindly asked the Countess, his 
senior in years, to write, in memory of the occasion, 
something in his album, and she wrote these words : 
" Follow me, saith Christ our Leader." These words he 
cherished as a guide star through life. He was an ex- 
ceedingly kind and well-informed, sagacious gentleman, 
of great urbanity, and a delightful companion. He 
married Miss Zeline von Mirbach, a lovely and high- 
toned, highly cultivated and very intellectual young 
lady. Both he and his wife were alive to everything 
that was good and noble. In his country seat at Grunen- 
feld Ebel lived from 1842 to 1848, of which more will be 
said hereafter. 



NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 1 39 

There was Baron Ernest von Heyking, from whose 
manuscript many of the earlier portions of this volume 
have been drawn, an out-and-out, spiritually-minded, 
highly intellectual and devoted Christian. Refinement, 
sincerity and earnestness, allied to a cheerful, urbane 
and amiable disposition, made him beloved by all who 
felt the outgoings of his gentle, sympathetic nature. He 
had studied law, and wielded a facile pen. His manu- 
script is beautifully written, and the matter is excellent, 
a model of analysis and clearness of statement, couched 
in language of classical purity and finish. He died very 
young. 

The Schrotter family has already been mentioned.* 
The venerable Chancellor von Schrotter and his wife 
and children were most refined and exemplary Chris- 
tians. Their hospitality and benevolence exhaled the 
purest Christian devotion. Their daughter Emilie, the 
most intimate friend of Countess Ida, has been described 
by her as a most lovely, an almost perfect Christian. 
She died very early (in the twenty -eighth year of her 
life), after a life spent in ofiices of love. Of the quality 
of her head, culture, and heart the following exquisite 
extract from her memoranda in manuscript may serve as 
a sample : 

" WJiatis knowledge, and what its origin ? In reflecting 
on a thing it is chiefly the head that is exercised, and mostly 
in a state of confusedness, in which the thoughts, crossing 
hither and thither, are hindered from clearness until they fall 
into order and collect in a focus, in virtue of which, as it 
were, a spark appears, emitting a luminous beam on the sub- 
ject of our thought, and enabling us clearly to cognize it. 
And this takes place after this wise : A tissue of nerves, having 

* See p. 119. 



140 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

their principal seat in the brain, covers the body, and any 
nerve, wherever touched, conveys the intelligence to the 
brain, causing us thereby to obtain cognizance of the object 
touching. These impressions passing into knowledge affect 
us both outwardly and inwardly, seeing that beams of spirit- 
ual light incessantly act upon and influence the inner man. 

"This influence is not uniform, but conditioned by our 
position and the time in which we live. 

" Man resembles a musical instrument, and as every instru- 
ment emits its peculiar, distinctive quality of sound, so every 
man, in virtue of his congenital disposition, possesses prop- 
erties distinctively his own, causing him to differ from others, 
to excel in one thing, to be deficient in another. 

"In this comparison, our impressions influencing us out- 
wardly and inwardly resemble the melodies played on the 
instrument. Our inward corruption is the cause that the 
notes are indistinct, or sound wrong and impure ; they also 
die away with the suspension of the efficient cause, for they 
are not yet our own, and we soon forget what we knew and 
expressed ; it is even possible that, after some time, a foreign 
and hostile spirit causes them to produce altogether different 
melodies. 

"Though man cannot impart to himself knowledge, yet, 
through our own fault, much remains dark which we might 
know, and we often neglect the duty of becoming clearly as- 
sured of what we know {gewiss-wissen). Others may tell 
us much, and to systematize and collect that much is the 
province of the learned. 

" Turning to God, however, is the sole help to truly profit- 
able knowledge, in prayer, that the beams of His light may 
become fixed within us, and this turning is the effect of free 
will. 

" What is to will ? The seat of the will is the heart ; the 
blood intimately connected with the nerves pours into the 
heart, the principal organ of life, and its duly regulated turn- 
ing and motion is the time of the spiritual melody within. 
For, as in a musical instrument, time stays the sounds on the 



NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 141 

sounding-board, regulating their resonance in audible sounds 
and melodies, so the turning of the will in the constant direc- 
tion of its surrender to God is necessary to render possible 
the staying of the Divine Spirit within us, whose focal light 
may grow so intense as to enable us clearly to see true knowl- 
edge and the revelation of the Bible, as is evident from the 
example of the truly enlightened. 

"This keeping time is in some persons facilitated by their 
being naturally musical, but on that account not yet assured; 
it really amounts to only a wish, for in temptation they get 
out of time, and they cannot keep it truly until, by free choice 
in the work of their regeneration, by effort and self-denial, it 
becomes their second nature, their own, enabling them to in- 
dicate the reasons, as they understand the harmonious con- 
nection of the spiritual world. This keeping time . . 
is the fundamental trait of their recovery, with their entire 
surrender to God, and their happiness from being illuminated 
through and through." 

The mother of that singularly-gifted maiden lived to a 
happy old age (she died in her ninetieth year), and never 
wearied in well-doing, utterly unselfish, and extending 
her benefactions beyond her death, one only ceased with 
the death of one of her beneficiaries a few months ago. 
Whatever was good, and noble, and lovely, and of good 
report, whatever tended to elevate, improve, and refine 
entered into and constituted the atmosphere of the 
Schrotter home at Konigsberg. 

Charles Count of Miinchow, a sturdy noble-minded 
Pomeranian, brought up in the fear of God, did not 
permanently live at Konigsberg, but had been for many 
years a warm personal friend of Ebel. In his fourteenth 
year he entered the army as an officer, and served with 
great distinction in the campaigns against Napoleon, and 
was decorated with the iron cross in token of his bravery ; 



142 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

he was an intimate and life-long friend of Count Kanitz, 
who, it will be remembered, served with equal distinction 
in the same wars. His military record in the service of 
his king cannot be detailed in these pages, but his much 
longer and enduring service as a soldier of Christ, must 
be put on record here. He was a consistent, honest, 
straightforward and outspoken man, who abhorred every- 
thing merely formal, and simulating the religion of Jesus, 
which to him was a reality imposing the ceaseless renova- 
tion and sanctification of the Christian in all his relations ; 
the one thing needful to him was to tread the narrow 
way in the imitation of Christ, to discharge his duty to 
God and to man in faith and self-denial — and this, he 
said, " was and is the end and tendency of my friendly 
commerce with Dr. Ebel and some kindred minds ; and 
this the sum-total of his teachings, advice, and luminous 
example, I have made the end of my life."* 

He sent his two daughters to Konigsberg to be pre- 
pared for confirmation. These excellent ladies continue 
to follow in the footsteps of their sainted parents. One 
of them is unmarried, the other is married to Herr von 
Woldeck, and it is delightful to state that his family is of 
the Christian stamp. Count Munchow, the last of his 
name, finished his warfare in i860, and Ebel wrote to 
his widow (who followed him four years later) and 
daughters : " We hope that the name of Munchow, by 
whomever borne, is written in the book of life ; " and in 
his own journal: "On Sept. 26, i860, Count Munchow 
completed his course. ' They that have walked in up- 
rightness shall enter into peace.' " (Is. lvii. 2, Luther's 
version.) f 

* Aufkldrung, pp. 276-7. f See also p. 203. 



NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 1 43 

Speaking of military men, I must not forget to men- 
tion the old and heroic Lieutenant-General von Larisch 
(who had served under Frederic the Great) and his two 
children, Captain Wilhelm von Larisch and Floribelle his 
sister. They were most exemplary Christians. The first 
once said to his children in quaint and touching humili- 
ty : " Children dear, if you see me do anything which 
you think is not pleasing to God, I want you to tell me 
of it ; you must not think it improper because I am your 
father, for I don't want to be your father for such a pur- 
pose." Captain Larisch, though a brave soldier, deemed 
it his greatest felicity to cultivate the friendship of the 
Prince of Peace ; both he and his sister died young ; 
they were members of EbeTs congregation, conspicuous 
for their purity of life. 

The last in the number of EbeTs most intimate and 
devoted friends to be named here is Mrs. Consentius, a 
very remarkable Christian lady. At the beginning of 
this century, when her husband still lived at Memel, the 
merchant prince of that place, the fugitive king of 
Prussia, Friedrich Wilhelm III., and Louise, his queen, 
found a loving home in their hospitable mansion, and 
the relations of queen Louise and Mrs. Consentius were 
those of tender friendship. She moved, chiefly on Ebel's 
account, to Konigsberg about the beginning of the third 
decade of this century, and her home, like Schrotter's 
and Kanitz's, was another spiritual, intellectual and 
Christian centre at Konigsberg. 

These people, and many others who for want of space 
cannot be enumerated by name, constituted the spiritual, 
as they were also by culture and station, the social elite 
of Konigsberg, and an account of them was necessary to 
explain not only the envy of other clergymen, who for 



144 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

reasons already sufficiently detailed resented the com- 
manding influence of Ebel, but also much that belongs 
to the next chapter, treating of the famous ecclesiastical 
suit, which, intricate as it is, will be better understood 
without the introduction of personal matters there. 

In the same connection the introduction of two other 
personages is here in place. By far the most venomous 
of the theological opponents of Ebel was the Consistorial 
Councillor Kahler, who in a pamphlet received as evi- 
dence, and forming part of the official record of the suit, 
is thus portrayed : 

" He became the personal enemy of Dr. Ebel, because the 
latter is the personal friend of God, of truth and of virtue, 
and because the blessed influence of his ministry is wanting 
in his own (K.'s) . . . . It is therefore not by any means 
surprising that a clergyman like Kahler should envy, and 
dare to persecute Ebel, who as a man and as a minister was 
a standing rebuke to his own conscience and ministry, and 
caused him by the mere force of contrast to feel his own in- 
feriority, and to see that others regarded him in the same 
light." 

This Councillor Kahler was a member of the local 
Consistory, and bitterly opposed to Ebel from the very 
start, and it was he whom Schon singled out as the in- 
vestigator of the very charges which had been persist- 
ently invented and propagated by himself. 

A brother-in-law of Count Kanitz, i. e. his second 
wife's brother, Count Fink, a thoroughly worldly minded 
man, who as well as his wife, had under the dominant 
influence of Christian sentiment among their social peers, 
risen to a certain show of religiousness, without being at 
all religiously inclined, and not by any means disposed 
to abandon their darling pursuits for habits of thought 



NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 145 

and life for which they really possessed no affinity. He 
belonged to a race, by no means extinct, whose conceit is 
exactly adjusted to their intellectual or moral deficiency, 
and often about things concerning which in the judg- 
ment of competent persons they are ill informed. When 
with the advent of Schon worldliness and irreligion re- 
gained the ascendency at Konigsberg these lukewarm 
Christians cast the straight-laced notions of the Ebel's 
circle overboard. There were also private matters which 
influenced their conduct, which must now be stated. 
Among the peculiar notions of Fink was the feudal 
prejudice that the paternal inheritance belongs de jure 
to the male descendants and not to the female, and that 
the latter depend on the generosity of the former. Now 
under the will of her father, Countess Charlotte von 
Kanitz had a share in the real estate. Her brother took 
the convenient view that that share should not be touched, 
and the interest due her remain unpaid. The Countess 
very naturally, especially as she wanted the money, did 
not relish the feudal notions which deprived her of her 
rights, and though, with great generosity, she had remitted 
to her brother several thousand thalers of back interest, 
yet as the Count, her brother, claimed the sole enjoyment 
of the revenue de jure, she very gently but firmly resisted 
his preposterous claims, and asked that at least one half 
of the annual interest be paid her. The Count waxed 
very hot, and indignantly declined all concession, saying 
that he was well able to pay the whole ; it was therefore 
agreed that he should do so. So he began the payments 
and indulged the curious habit of accompanying each 
payment with offensive and abusive letters. The thing 
was not to be endured, and compelled her finally to de- 
mand the payment of the principal as well as of the in- 



I46 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

terest. Count Fink ascribed this to religious fanaticism, 
and became thenceforth the bitter antagonist of his sister, 
her husband, Count Kanitz, and Ebel, whom somehow 
he held responsible for their actions. 

When Olshausen and Tippelskirch * left Ebel and his 
friends they sought Fink, and as they all thought they 
had grievances to be righted, they made common cause 
against them, in which Kahler and Schon, who had 
likewise their peculiar grievances, heartily seconded 
them. 

At an earlier period Ebel and Diestel had founded a 
sort of clerical club, called the Prediger Krdnzchen, which 
met at least once a month for the purpose of cultivating 
social relations, and discussing scientific and theological 
subjects. From the nature of the case, Ebel was the 
recognized head and animating spirit of this club. Ols- 
hausen, very ambitious for leadership, and unable to 
establish it in that organization, started a new one which 
he called the Clerical Conference {Prediger Conferenz), 
for the manifest purpose of undermining the influence of 
Ebel. Somehow the Conference did not succeed ; it had 
been conceived in ill-nature ; unfortunately two of its 
members became crazy, and in those days of official in- 
terference the local authorities interposed and gave the 
Conference the quietus. This was very galling to Ols- 
hausen, who, feeling the necessity to justify his course, 
rushed into print, and as his statements were very un- 
guarded and misleading, and assailed the views of his 
theological opponents, his pamphlet was answered by 
Diestel, and led to a long protracted theological con- 
troversy in which a number of pamphlets were written 

* See p. 129. 



NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 1 47 

on both sides, with the result, that Olshausen was so 
completely discomfited that it became necessary for him 
to leave the field, which he did by relinquishing his posi- 
tion at Konigsberg for one at Erlangen, for which latter 
place he started in 1834. 

The potencies at work to undermine the influence of 
Ebel and Diestel have now been sufficiently character- 
ized to enable the reader to understand the situation. 
The secret and, on the part of some, the openly-avowed 
purpose of all the parties concerned was the overthrow 
of the hated Christian doctrine, and the setting up of a 
secular, rationalistic, accommodating theology, which 
should discard the element of personal purity, so strenu- 
ously maintained by Ebel and his friends. But how was 
the thing to be accomplished ? It could not be done 
openly, for Ebel and Diestel were leaders of vast in- 
fluence and power, of unimpeachable character, in- 
trenched in the confidence and affections of the best and 
most influential people of Konigsberg, and especially 
Ebel, almost worshipped by them for his many and 
shining virtues. If it was to be accomplished it had to 
be done in a different way. And that way was to brand 
Ebel and his followers with infamy by charging them 
with, and, if possible, convict them of heresy and sec- 
tarianism. In countries like England and America the 
charge and the conviction would not amount to anything 
per se, but in a country where religion forms part of a 
State which exercises a sort of paternal supervision 
over the religious conscience of the people, the charge 
amounted to a great deal, and the consequences to the 
persons accused and convicted would be very serious 
and disastrous. But as there was nothing in the public 
teaching of Ebel and Diestel, nor in their published 



148 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

writings, to sustain such a charge, other means had to be 
sought and employed to forge one. 

What these means were will now be narrated. Schon, 
Kahler, Olshausen, Tippelskirch, and Fink started, each 
in his peculiar way, the rumor that Ebel had founded a 
sect, that it was a heretical sect, and that all the excel- 
lent people introduced to the reader in the preceding 
pages were members of that sect ; that they held secret 
meetings, at which, under the garb of religion, unheard- 
of immoralities were taught and practised ; that that 
sect was an ulcer in society, and that the interests of 
public morals required investigation and radical meas- 
ures for its suppression and extinction. It must not, 
however, be imagined that these dreadful charges were 
made openly or at one time ; they began to be circu- 
lated very gently and cautiously, and were whispered 
about in innuendoes scattered broadcast through society 
in Konigsberg, the province, and all Germany, in myste- 
rious allusions of dark import, and repeated and exag- 
gerated so often that a public sentiment about them be- 
gan gradually to be formed. They resurrected the ghost 
of poor Schonherr, and alleged that his wildest and most 
absurd vagaries were child's-play as compared with the 
terrible doings of the Ebelians ; the pagan Schon in- 
vented a peculiarly offensive epithet, and dubbed with it 
Ebel and the Old-Town Church people, and Fink hus- 
banded his efforts to the best of his ability. This feud- 
alist fancied that the Countess Charlotte's demand for 
her patrimony originated in sectarian bigotry, which 
caused her to disregard his feudal rights and subordinate 
them to the interests of her sect and the dictates of its 
head. Ignatius Loyola and his minions, according to 
him, were paragons of virtue as compared with Ebel, 



NOBLE CHRISTIANS. 1 49 

Kanitz, the Countess Ida, and all the rest. He was so 
full of the matter, and so eager for revenge, that he in- 
dited a letter to a lady, altogether a stranger to Ebel and 
his friends, with the request to communicate its contents 
to some of her friends who were on terms of friendship 
with them. This lady's sister, Miss Zeline von Mirbach,* 
indignant at its vile calumnies, received presently one ad- 
dressed to herself by the selfsame Fink, and sent it to 
Diestel, an old and personal friend of her family, for the 
purpose of stopping the matter. Diestel sent Fink a 
scathing missive, exposing his motives in words of indig- 
nant disgust, and notifying him that, as he " could not 
allow Christian ministers to be persecuted with the vilest 
calumnies to the injury of their sacred office," he was re- 
solved to oppose him not only then, but whenever he 
should dare to repeat the offence, and to publish its false- 
hood. 

Fink, who had anticipated this result, mounted the 
feudal charger, and desired Diestel to retract, and when 
he very properly refused to comply with the insulting 
request, he brought suit against him for libel, and in 
order to create a public opinion in his favor, he and Tip- 
pelskirchf disseminated in a sort of circular letter, ad- 
dressed to persons in different parts of Germany, the 
most slanderous reports concerning Ebel, Diestel, and 
their friends. 

In this round-about but most adroit way opportunity 
was made to give the charges against Ebel and his 
friends publicity. 

According to the then existing provisions of the Prus- 
sian code, the Criminal Senate, before which the suit for 

* See p. 138. f See pp. 122-124. 



150 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

libel was pending, was bound to communicate the matter 
to the local ecclesiastical authority, the so-called Consis- 
tory, of which Schon, the provincial governor, was ex 
officio the presiding officer, and Kahler a member. This 
provision had the double purpose of faulting the clergy 
if they deserved censure, and of defending them in case 
they were falsely accused. The Consistory might, there- 
fore, take cognizance of well-founded charges brought 
against clergymen presumably liable to them, but was 
bound to disallow unfounded charges in the case of per- 
sons of established reputation for integrity and virtue, 
and of acknowledged good standing. 

But as Schon and Kahler were resolved to destroy 
Ebel if they could, and to degrade his religious senti- 
ments, they pursued the unheard-of and preposterous 
course on the ground of mere rumor, without an ostensi- 
ble informer (as the law required) to act the part of 
prosecutor (as the law forbade), and in violation of every 
known principle of judicial process recognized in the 
Prussian code, to appear in the double capacity of prose- 
cutor and judge, with this further terrible aggravation, 
that the prosecutor and judge invented and manufac- 
tured the corpus delicti, and then instituted proceedings 
against Ebel and Diestel, as will appear more fully in the 
next chapter. 



CHAPTER VII. 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT 



When the Consistory received official information of 
the suit of Fink vs. Diestel for libel, pending before the 
Criminal Senate, its president, Schon, knowing all about 
Fink's stories (for he had told them to him), requested 
him through tbe Consistory to specify a few facts sub- 
stantiating the charge of sectarianism, with a view to 
enabling that body to institute proceedings against Ebel ; 
a very remarkable course to be pursued by an official 
body like the Consistory, whose functions did certainly 
not include those of the detective police. But as Fink 
had no facts, but only subjective conjectures to communi- 
cate, which under the Prussian code are inadmissible in 
courts of justice, the pliant Schon overcame the difficulty 
by appointing Kahler, a clerical member of the Consis- 
tory, as investigator, whom he knew to be the personal 
enemy of Ebel and the most bitter antagonist of his 
theological bias. As the basis of his conjectures, Fink 
adduced a conversation which he pretended to have had 
with Ebel thirteen years before, in the exact recollection 
of which he could not possibly be mistaken ; he also 
produced a number of letters written by Count Kanitz 
some ten to fifteen years before, which, he alleged, con- 
cealed a mysterious sense under their otherwise most 

151 



152 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

edifying language. He also produced Sachs,* of infa- 
mous memory, as a witness to corroborate his surmises. 
When, by questions adroitly put, the inventive Sachs had 
been given to understand what kind of information was 
wanted of him, he gratified the wishes of this singular 
investigator to his heart's content, who proceeded there- 
upon to draft what he called "a theological opinion," 
but which, as to drift and purpose, not less than as to the 
peculiar denunciatory and false character of the writer 
might, with greater propriety and with strict reference to 
the etymology of the term, be described as " a diabolical 
opinion." Fink's wife, who twenty-three years before 
had been prepared by Ebel for confirmation, wrote (when 
does not appear) an essay on her impressions of the in- 
structions she had then received, and which, she alleged, 
embodied the heretical notions of Schonherr (utterly un- 
founded, and pronounced so afterwards by competent 
judges); this essay was likewise received in evidence, 
and used by Kahler as the point of departure for his in- 
terpretation of Schonherr's views, which he fathered on 
Ebel, and pointed out that they were of dangerous moral 
tendency. 

This opinion he reported to the Consistory, which 
thereupon, under date September 28, 1835, summoned 
Ebel to appear before them for the purpose of being ex- 
amined concerning the charges, which were briefly re- 
ferred to in the summons. Ebel, convinced that there 
could not be any well-founded charges against him, 
requested a copy of the specifications, which the Consis- 
tory refused, and postponed the set hearing to October 
5, 1835. Ebel appeared on that day before the Consis- 

* See p. 121. 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 53 

tory and renewed his request, and when it was again re- 
fused, declined to submit to an examination until so just 
a demand were complied with. 

In the meantime Count Kanitz, who was not only the 
oldest and most familiar friend of Ebel, but also inti- 
mately acquainted with the informers, had offered to ap- 
pear before the Consistory to shed light on the matter. 
But that body would have none of his counsel, and pre- 
ferred, contrary to every known principle of justice, to 
receive the testimony of Fink and Sachs in support of 
their own accusations, and two days later, on October 7, 
1835, decreed that Ebel should be suspended from his 
office, and two months later, on December 9, the suspen- 
sion of Diestel. This act of violence is unparalleled in 
the annals of Prussia, as diametrically opposed to the 
prescript judicial process, and as arbitrarily assuming 
powers with which the Consistory is not lawfully clothed 

Ebel, who knew the temper of his ecclesiastical op- 
ponents and their presiding officer, was not at all sur- 
prised at their action, but, conscious of the uprightness 
of his course of life and ministerial conduct, took the 
suspension very calmly, while the Consistory, with a view 
to justify their daring action, adopted the following 
characteristic measures : 

1. In their official notification of his suspension to 
Ebel they said : 

" The past conduct of your office, acknowledged and rec- 
ognized by this body as zealous and blameless, is unable to 
arrest further proceedings on our part, because it has been 
insufficient to ward off from you such hard charges." 

This excuse, as Count Kanitz tersely puts it, is invalid 
in law, in logic and in experience. In law, because the 



154 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

law attaches the least importance to a charge preferred 
against a most blameless person ; in logic, because not 
every charge, as such, is well founded, and because 
nobody is able to ward off from himself an unfounded 
charge, and for the very reason that it has no real, actual 
foundation requiring to be removed ; in experience, 
because history affords many instances that the noblest 
of men cannot always ward off from themselves hard ac- 
cusations. 

2. The investigator published an anonymous paper in 
the Allge?neine Kirchenzeitung (Nov. 24, 1835, No. 177), 
starting with the outrageous falsehood that Olshausen 
had faithfully developed and clearly stated the doctrines 
of Schonherr in his work, Lehre und Leben des Konigs- 
berger T/ieosofihen, Johann Heinrich Schonherr, etc., 
although only a year before he had maintained in another 
place : Olshausenius in hanc rem scripsit inscite satis et 
injuste* He then detailed at length the charges in 
romantic, or as we call it in America, in sensational 
language, leaving it in the reader's option to regard the 
matter " either as the most fearful aberrations of fanati- 
cism and hypocrisy, or as senseless and culpable 
calumny," adding that the high and blameless character 
of the accused constrained the assumption of the latter 
alternative, but that nevertheless the Consistory had 
been compelled, under a strong sense of their responsi- 
bility, to decree their suspension, in order that the 
dignity of the ministerial office might be maintained and 
the public opinion respected. This marvellous and 
unique piece of reasoning is accompanied by the glar- 
ingly contradictory statement that " the judgment of all 

* Programm der Konigsberger Universitat, 1834. 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 55 

that prize truth and morals was not by any means 
formed," and that "the public impatiently and indig- 
nantly, with a preponderating leaning against Ebel and 
his friends, expected some decisive manifestation, and 
regarded the suspension in that light." The plain Eng- 
lish of all this being that the writer deliberately at- 
tempted to create an unfavorable public opinion con- 
cerning the persecuted clergymen, after their suspension 
had been decreed, and then pretended that the pressure 
of that unfavorable opinion was one of the reasons for 
the suspension. When subsequently he was requested by 
Count Kanitz to explain these extraordinary statements, 
he declared ad acta that in using the term "public," he 
understood by it " something which is found everywhere, 
and yet cannot be anywhere definitely grasped." And 
such a phantom of a thing was alleged to have neces- 
sitated the action of the Consistory, which he sought still 
further to justify on the plea that Ebel, declining to be 
interrogated, and proposing measures calculated to pro- 
tract the investigation, compelled that body to suspend 
him. The falsification was simply preposterous, seeing 
that all that Ebel ever proposed was the fair and sensible 
request to have a copy of the charges officially preferred 
against him, which is by universal consent the indisputa- 
ble right of one charged with a misdemeanor or crime. 

3. The Consistory likewise reported the matter to the 
Ministerium for Ecclesiastical Affairs at Berlin, in a way 
designed to misrepresent the case and thwart the ends 
of justice. They referred in terms of holy horror to an 
impending terrible popular excitement, which by their 
speedy, though well-matured action against the offend- 
ers had been happily averted. The bugbear of the 
alleged popular excitement was constructed with all the 



156 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

Machiavelian skill which Schon and Kahler understood 
so well to employ. Six bills, they said, of dirty obscen- 
ity had been pasted up in different parts of the city, the 
contents of which had actually become known in the 
schools. They were comparatively harmless lampoons, 
written by some irreligious person and directed not 
against Ebel and Diestel only, but against all the ortho- 
dox ministers of Konigsberg, who were mentioned by 
name, and breathed simply hatred of Christianity. 
Whether the two worthies wrote or inspired them them- 
selves, cannot be proven, but it is proven that they did 
not send the bills to Berlin, where the absurdity and 
wickedness of their falsified account would have been 
instantly unmasked by their simple perusal, and pre- 
ferred to describe them as something dreadful, imperiling 
the safety of the body politic and the public morality. 

They further alleged that Ebel and Diestel, in order 
to prevent threatened disturbances in their churches, 
had been compelled on several Sundays to require the 
presence of the police during service, and that the police 
had likewise been compelled to protect Ebel and Kanitz 
in the streets of the city from the insults of an excited 
populace. When this matter was afterwards referred by 
the Count to the Chief of Police for verification, the 
official report of that functionary ran that although from 
information received (doubtless from Schon) the police 
had been instructed how to act in case disturbances 
should take place during public service, or in case Dr. 
Ebel or Count Kanitz should be publicly insulted, yet 
seeing that such disturbances and insults never did 
occur, the police had never been called upon, and never 
at any time did interfere. This matter, like the lam- 
poon business, was purely invented by the chief civil 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 57 

officer of the crown and his clerical confederate in the 
Consistory. 

The Ministerium at Berlin had in its archives the 
record of the occurrences of 18 14, emanating from the 
same body and directed against the same clergyman,* 
and reference to the opinion of Schleiermacher might 
have guided it as to the proper course to be pursued in 
the premises, which ought to have been the cancelling of 
the consistorial decrees and the institution of legal pro- 
ceedings against the Consistory for culpable abuse of 
their powers and perversion of the ends of justice for the 
gratification of personal enmity. But there was no 
Schleiermacher to counsel wisdom, and the prevailing 
sentiment being rationalistic, the proposition for a "crimi- 
nal inquiry was approved, and on the depositions of 
three witnesses, who were de facto the informers, referred 
to the courts. These three witnesses were : 

1. Fink, whose character has been sufficiently de- 
scribed, and whom Schon, who plumed himself on the 
use of significant epithets, called " a twister." 

2. Sachs, also described, dubbed by Schon " a snap- 
ping cur, catching your leg from behind." 

3. The Rural Councillor von Hake, whom Schon de- 
sired to communicate his impressions of the " Ebelian 
sect," was a man who, a short time before the suit had 
been begun, had become known to him under these cir- 
cumstances : Hake had betrayed a girl on pretence that 
he was about to be divorced from his wife and would 
marry her, but having accomplished his purpose, dis- 
carded her, so that the poor victim appealed to Schon, 
the governor, for protection. The official protector of 

* See pp. 79-82. 



158 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

outraged innocence chose that infamous seducer as his 
third witness or informer. 

It is proper to state here that the foregoing details are 
the resume of the official record, and that every word 
employed may be verified by it. By far the fullest ac- 
count of the whole matter will be found in the exhaustive 
work of Count Kanitz, of which this is the full title : 
Aufkldrung nach Actenquellen ilber den 1835— 1842, in 
Konigsberg, in Preussen, gefilhrten Religionsprocess filr 
Welt-und Kirchen-Geschichte, von Ernst Graf en von Ka- 
nitz, Koniglich Preussischem Tribunalsrath, A. D. y Basel 
und Ludwigsburg, 1862, 1 vol. 4to, pp. viii., 468 (The 
Religious Suit Conducted at Konigsberg, in Prussia, from 
1835 to 1842, Elucidated by the Official Record as a 
Contribution to Secular and Church History, etc.). This 
masterpiece, by the concurrent testimony of all true his- 
torians (no matter how differently the matter was re- 
garded by some at the time while the record was kept 
secret) now received as authentic, is the standing monu- 
ment of his indefatigable perseverance, invincible zeal, 
and all-conquering friendship, whereby he has succeeded 
in proving with overwhelming conclusiveness on irre- 
fragable evidence that said suit was conducted in viola- 
tion of law, that the charges brought against the accused 
were baseless, barefaced falsehoods, that the sentences 
found against them were utterly unjust, and that Ebel 
and Diestel were bright and shining lights, conspicuous 
for virtue, spirituality, and faithfulness, whose lofty con- 
ceptions of the Christian life, and apostolical earnestness 
in commending and upholding the necessity of applying 
Christian precepts to every relation of life, were the real 
cause of the bitter hatred and persecution meted out to 
them. 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 59 

The writer, with limited space at his command over 
which the vast material has to be spread, from a just re- 
gard to symmetry and proportion, feels that by far the 
best account that can be given to the reader for the pur- 
pose of a general survey of the case, is a brief synopsis of 
the Count's work, preceded by a translation of the testi- 
monial * addressed to him by the Bench at the time of his 
retirement from office, produced here for the purpose of 
informing those to whom that Christian nobleman is un- 
known of the opinion entertained of him by his colleagues, 
and of the credit to be attached to his statements : 

" To the Royal Prussian Tribu7ial Councillor Count von 
Kanitz : 

"Your officially communicated intention of leaving our col- 
lege, in which during a very long series of years you have filled 
so distinguished a place, imposes upon us the painful duty of 
conveying to you our sentiments in a few valedictory words. 

" Your example as a judge of true independence, fidelity, 
and conscientiousness should animate our imitation, and your 
pattern of sincere affability in your intercourse with us, your 
colleagues, have drawn and secured to you the undivided 
love and esteem of us all, a love and esteem which, next to 
the cheering consciousness of duty faithfully performed in 
your own heart, as we know it, represent the noblest recom- 
pense of reward. 

"These our sentiments, which will ever accompany you 
through life, render our official farewell greeting peculiarly 
painful, as they impress us with the magnitude of the loss we 
are about to sustain. 

" We beg you, along with this assurance, to accept our 
profound gratitude for the important and successful part you 
have had in our joint judicial labors, and for the urbane con- 

* The reader will please observe that it was given several years 
after the termination of the suit. 



l6o FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

siderateness which you have ever accorded to our collegiate 
body, while we trust that we may hereafter be privileged to 
enjoy the continuance of your good will. 

" May a gracious Providence very soon restore your health, 
impaired by meritorious zeal in the service of the fatherland, 
and grant you for many years to come unbroken and un- 
clouded enjoyment of independent repose and of happiness 
securely founded on a warfare worthily carried on for truth 
and justice. 

"The Chancellor and President, the Councillors and 
Assessors of the Royal Tribunal of the Kingdom 
of Prussia, 
"v. Wegnern. Tiedmann. Feege. Fischer, 

rlchelot. schmiedike. lympius. 
Ulrich. Kuhr. Vock. 

Simson. Neumann. 

Charisius. Hoyer. Hartung. 

" Kbnigsberg, the 30th December, 1845." 

The preface of the Aufkldrung, recapitulating the 
Count's connection with the suit, and furnishing certain 
data essential to the proper understanding of the case, 
runs : " The author of this work, whose outward and in- 
ward life is closely interwoven with the affair round 
which revolves the suit illuminated in its pages, felt it to 
be his duty from the commencement of the judicial pro- 
ceedings to co-operate towards the establishment of the 
truth. His testimony having been declined by the Con- 
sistory,* he submitted a statement to His Majesty Fred- 
eric William III., bearing date October 18th, 1835, 
offering to bring his accurate knowledge of the accused 
and their accusers, and the motives of their accusations 
to the cognizance of the proper authorities, in order to 

* See p. 153. 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. l6l 

obviate precipitate action to be apprehended from the 
notorious adverse leanings of several high functionaries 
of State." 

This led to the result, that the body charged with the 
investigation of the case was required in a cabinet order, 
dated November 7, 1835, "to request of Count Kanitz the 
information (or as expressed in another part of the royal 
mandate the explanation) which, according to his state- 
ment, would serve to explain the true nature of the case, 
and shed light on the individuality of the persons in- 
volved in the same." 

"The Minister of Justice, moreover, on the 27th day of the 
same month, made it obligatory on the court conducting the 
inquiry, ' forthwith and carefully to comply with the execu- 
tion of this supreme command.' 

" The author, however, enjoyed only a very short time the 
privilege of satisfying the royal command ; for as early as 
March 21, 1836, he was again denied the use of the minutes 
specifying the charges indispensable to the elucidation of the 
case, as well as access to the record of the subsequent trans- 
actions, which had been accorded to him since February 1, 
of the same year. 

"Unsuccessful both in setting aside the lateral influences 
which had occasioned the said denial (to be detailed at the 
proper place), and in his efforts to prevent certain illegalities, 
his co-operation looking to the establishment of the truth had 
thenceforth to be confined to his testimony given before the 
court. 

"At that time the elucidation bore on matters of fact, 
which have become superfluous since the publication of the 
final sentence in the suit continued to the close of the year 
1 841, according to which the accused were acquitted of all 
criminal charges, and condemned for holding a philosophico- 
theological/ra/dtf* view and the alleged dissemination of the 
same. It is therefore all the more necessary at this present 



1 62 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

time, that the official record should be made to illuminate 
the influences which rendered it possible that in this nine- 
teenth century courts of justice did not only pretend to con- 
demn religious and philosophical views, but actually under- 
took to pronounce their colloquial communication as crime^ 
and to punish the persons concerned, with deposition from 
the ministry. 

" This work seemed to be prescribed to the author in virtue 
of his intimate relation to the affair, and of his knowledge of 
the judicial record, insight of which was accorded to him in 
the first instance by royal mandate, and subsequently by the 
counsel for the defence. But its execution was impossible to 
him while the crowded business of official duties absorbed 
all his energies. Not until the impaired condition of his 
health, caused by the toil ot many years' labor, compelled him 
to resign his office in the service of the State, did he find the 
necessary leisure, and thanks to the invigorating influence of 
the milder climate in which he had taken up his abode, the 
needed strength to compile from former extracts the official 
data essential to the elucidation of the case. 

"The author, in memory of the prince, whose sense of 
justice directed him to diffuse light on this matter, hereby 
fulfils the intent of the royal mandate in making the record 
reveal the truth, and satisfies the promptings of his own 
mind to supply proof that the termination of this affair in a 
result at once illegal, insensate and immoral cannot be laid 
to the charge of the humane Prussian law, to the administra- 
tion of which he had for more than forty years consecrated 
all his powers, but rather to the non-observance and trans- 
gression of the provisions of that law, whereby in the con- 
duct of this affair justice has in various ways been outraged 
and trodden under foot, the liberty of conscience violated, 
and things sacred delivered to vulgar contempt." 

The work consists of three parts, viz.: I. Prelimina- 
ries of the Suit ; II. History of the Suit : III. 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 163 

Results of the Suit. Of these the first part has been 
so fully and exhaustively delineated in the preceding 
pages, that a further synopsis of it would be simple repe- 
tition ; the same applies to the first subdivision of the 
second part entitled 1. The encroachmenis of the ecclesiasti- 
cal authorities, which are duly chronicled in the beginning 
of this chapter. The synopsis begins, therefore, with 2. 
The precipitate interference of the courts and its conse- 
quences, which Count Kanitz proves from the transgression 
of these precepts of the Prussian code. a. The judge 
must strictly confine himself to the limits of the law ; b. 
Only facts can be submitted to his judgment ; c. He 
must maintain the equality of all persons before the law ; 
and summarizes as follows : The Prussian criminal code 
prescribes, §§ 106, in, 116, that the informers be heard 
in court before inquiries are instituted; disregarded. 

§§ 109, 112, that the origin and cause of the charges 
be inquired into ; disregarded. 

§§ 112, 115, compel the judge, as a preliminary, to 
inquire into the relations of the accuser to the accused, 
and the credibility of the former ; wholly omitted. 

§§ 108, no, expressly enjoin the utmost caution in 
maintaining inviolate the good report of the accused ; 
disregarded. Disregard of these legal precepts for the 
benefit of the accused led to a number of other illegal 
acts, among which should be noted the following : 

The Criminal Directory sets forth in 72 paragraphs 
the manner how the facts of the case must be established ; 
omitted. 

In consequence of this omission the prescript mode of 
procedure was entirely reversed, and the accused were 
forced to submit for months to inquiries concerning a 
non-extant corpus delicti ; the dignity of justice was 



164 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

outraged by a search for an offence not established by 
facts ; the minutes of the accusation were construed con- 
trary to law and reason ; the directions of the supreme 
law-giver (the king) for the elucidation of the affair were 
rendered nugatory by sundry intrigues. 

But this was not all, for these transgressions of the 
law entailed the most disastrous consequences : 

a. As affecting the congregations of the accused by shak- 
ing their confidence in the justice of the Government. 

b. As affecting the sanctity of the family by trampling 
under foot the ties of blood and decorum in requiring parents 
and children, husbands and wives, to testify on oath against 
each other. 

c. As affecting the public welfare in giving license to un- 
bridled passion, in favoring defamatory promulgations and 
suppressing their refutation, to the prejudice of the public 
morals, and the encouragement of unprincipled writers to 
abuse the press. 

3. The illegal conduct of the examination. 

The Prussian criminal code (§ 274) requires the judge 
to be as careful to ascertain the innocence as to estab- 
lish the guilt of the accused, and to define clearly the 
legal concept of the crime, with reference to the modifi- 
cations of the penal lav/ affecting the same. 

Nothing was done to define the legal concept of " a 
sect," although it had been intimated by the Chancellor 
von Wegnern " that the circle of friends described as a 
' society ' ( Verein, lit. union) could not be regarded 
in the light of a sect, because that required formal 
separation from the established church, and the mem- 
bers of the alleged society had never avowed such 
separation, but on the contrary maintained continuous 
connection with the same." The examining officer, 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. l6" 

moreover, officially put it on record that " the status of a 
sect imports a total separation from the dominant 
church." Instead of acting upon these cautions, and of 
limiting the inquiry to the question whether these criteria 
applied to the case in hand, i. e., whether the alleged 
" society " was a sect, that was taken for granted, and 
the inquiry was allowed to assume inordinate dimensions, 
and to wander into illicit regions by 

" Hunting for grounds of suspicion in all the provinces of 
Prussia, and in almost every country of German speech, and 
weaving together gossip wholly irrelevant to the case, and 
utterly unconnected with the accused and their friends. " — 
" Fables and curiosa, collected in this way, became the sub- 
ject of judicial proceedings and sworn examinations, and 
kept the public in breathless suspense from November, 1835, 
to August, 1836. Idlers failed not to augment the material 
thus furnished with the inventions of a vulgar and lascivious 
imagination, which were eagerly published by a frivolous 
press. No relation was spared ; all ordinary decorum was 
set aside ; the sanctity of the family was ruthlessly invaded, 
and all civil and social relations were rummaged by the 
intrusiveness of criminal interference." 

All attempts to stay these degrading illegalities were 
unavailing ; unsubstantiated rumors were, contrary to 
law, made the basis of official inquiry, even under oath ; 
opinions, which the law accords only to experts, and to 
them only when the logical connection is established, 
were required and accepted from utterly unqualified 
persons on irrelevant matters ; documentary evidence 
(restricted under the law to matters germane to the 
subject of inquiry, and bearing on the decision) of the 
most dubious and unlawful character was received ; 
the legal provision that testimony must be based on 



l66 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

actual knowledge of facts obtained by the witness from 
observation of the senses, was wantonly disregarded, and 
conjectures and presumptions were illegally received as 
evidence. In the important matter of the credibility of 
witnesses, the record shows that a witness, whose repu- 
tation as an immoral man is established by documentary 
proof, was allowed to testify on subjects requiring mor- 
ally pure perceptions. The law forbids the introduction 
of all irrelevant matter into the examination of the 
accused and of witnesses, especially that of suggestions 
(/. e. y of questions containing the matter that ought to be 
ascertained by the reply), and of captious questions 
(/". e., questions inducing the witness to say more than 
he intended, or misleading or confusing him) ; all the 
questions submitted to the accused and the witnesses 
were full of such suggestions and captious features. The 
provisions of the law requiring "the witness to testify, 
fully and truly, and if possible, in his own words in the 
first person," was violated, and witnesses examined on 
written essays, even on essays composed for them by 
others, and the sanctity of the oath so outrageously 
disregarded, that a witness was actually required to 
testify on oath "whether seven persons whose names 
were given, had been the candlesticks in the Revelation 
of St. John ? " The confrontation (*. e., the act of 
bringing face to face two persons whose testimony on 
the same subject conflicts) throughout the trial (if 
trial it can be called) was just as loose and out- 
rageous a mockery and scandal as the matter of the 
oaths. The confrontation of the accuser and the ac- 
cused was under the Prussian code reserved in excep- 
tional cases as a kind of last resort for getting at the 
truth ; in this suit the court unlawfully constrained *be 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 167 

accused to submit eight times to this unnecessary and 
absurd procedure, because from the very nature of the 
case it could not probably promote the interests of 
truth. The confrontations of the witnesses, likewise, 
were marked by illegalities and glaring partiality.* 
While the prosecution was unduly favored, unlawful 
obstacles were placed in the way of the defence, and the 
whole inquiry is branded by Count Kanitz as a pattern 
showing how a criminal inquiry should not be conducted. 
The Prussian criminal process leaves it optional with 
the defendant either to write his own defence or to em- 
ploy a defender. The accused were now required (June 
2 and 6) to name a defender within a week, and to hand 
in their defence within a month, and subsequently (July 
16, 1837) within a fortnight. The documents had accu- 
mulated to such formidable dimensions that the time 
allotted for the preparation of the defence was barely 
sufficient to peruse these " Acts " {Aden) in the most 
superficial manner. The legally recognized favor defen- 
sionis was disallowed, and the action of the court was 
a grim satire on that just and merciful provision of the 
law. The accused chose as their defender a legal gen- 
tleman who, having just arrived at Konigsberg, stood 
quite neutral to all the parties — Oberlandesgerichtsrath 
Crelinger — to whom, for the purpose of preparing the 
defence, all the " acts " — i. e. y the minutes of all the pro- 
ceedings from beginning to end, without any pretence of 
arrangement, in a state of bewildering confusion — had to 
be forwarded. This distinguished jurist went at the 
herculean task with indomitable energy, and although he 
succeeded in obtaining more space than had originally 

* Aufklarung, p. 215 sqq. 



l68 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

been granted to the accused, he was continually annoyed 
by petty chicanery on the part of the court, intentionally 
put forth to throw every possible difficulty in the way of 
the defence. The details of the defence need not de- 
tain us, but in the absence of these as well as of other un- 
necessary particulars, it may interest the general reader 
to peruse a private letter of Crelinger to a friend at 
Halle, written years after his official connection with the 
case had ceased, in answer to certain inquiries on the 
subject addressed to him : 

"Allow me," he wrote in 1845, " to state, in the first place, 
that the said invective [the term • Mucker ' ], as far as it found 
its way into the public, is due to a lithographed circular filled 
with the most revolting abuse, in which the persons in ques- 
tion were confounded with a party whose dead orthodoxy dons 
the livery of sanctimonious cant. That offensive term is not 
so much as mentioned in the ' criminal minutes,' nor has the 
court ventured to make any inquiries in that direction. That 
lithographed letter was sent all over Germany. I myself 
saw it at Breslau during the winter of 1835-6. When, in the 
spring of 1836, I entered upon my professional career in this 
city, I became officially connected with those persons so 
hardly assailed. ... It were wrong to conceal from you 
that the opinion I had formed of my clients, under the domi- 
nant influence of that lithographic epistle, was not free from 
prejudice, and injurious to them. But how different were the 
impressions derived from personal intercourse with these so- 
called sectaries. So far from being hypocritical (lit. head- 
droopers) and ' muckisch,' I found them in every respect 
pursuing lofty moral and intellectual aims. Their candor 
and love of truthfulness were singularly striking, especially 
when, as their legal adviser, I recommended that some par- 
ticulars for the accomplishment of certain ends should either 
be suppressed or at least be presented in a manner not ex- 
actly in agreement with the facts of the case, which is not by 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 69 

any means disallowed in the handling of lawsuits, and seemed 
to me necessary; but all my representations of the propriety 
of that course, and of the legal disadvantages, nay, of actual 
danger to my clients that would or might ensue from their 
rejection of that advice, proved unavailing. The practice ol 
a legal adviser necessitates caution, which in most instances 
is not only approved but desired by the parties to a suit. I 
was therefore simply amazed at an exhibition of veracity re- 
gardless of consequences, which I have rarely met in men of 
undoubted integrity, but never in the same degree as in those 
my clients. I need hardly add that it filled me with the 
highest respect and esteem for them. . . As I began to 
understand all the bearings of their case, I perceived that 
their determination would rouse opposition and enmity all 
around, but especially from a party then incipient, but now, 
alas, dominant, seeking to make up for the want of spiritual 
and moral excellence by imaginary Christian phrase and a 
debasing trifling with religious subjects, which, by the adroit 
use of sundry co-operating circumstances, brought about the 
criminal inquisition of 1835-6. It is not improbable that that 
lithographed circular originated with the same party. . . . 
You want finally to know if judgment has been pronounced ? 
There has ; the second and final sentence of the Court of Ap- 
peal was given in 1842, resulting in the deprivation of the 
two clergymen, because their philosophical views of religious 
subjects were not approved ; it was therefore an inquisitorial 
sentence, at the time at least unexpected and diametrically 
opposed to the liberty of thought and belief guaranteed by the 
law. ... A procedure which makes the strictly private 
views of an accused person the basis of punishment cannot 
be denominated otherwise than persecution. . . . On the 
other hand, the court acquitted the accused of the charges of 
sectarism and of the immoral tendencies publicly rumored, 
and the second sentence emphatically rebuked the extrava- 
gant distortions of the press on this point, and public notice 
thereof has been given in an article printed in No. 80 of the 
Allgemeine Leipziger Zeitung for 1842. . . . You per- 



17O FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

ceive from this simple answer of your questions that the 
affair belongs to those which essentially concern the interests 
of right and truth." 

The third part of the " Aufklarung" treats of the 
Results of the Suit. It is also subdivided into three 
sections : 

i. The unmasking of the accusers and their witnesses. 
This section wrought by the disregard of the monitions 
of conscience reveals a warning picture of moral de- 
vastation in men, who, at one time receptive to nobler 
impressions, had chosen the better part. The melancholy 
official record proves that the conduct and testimony of 
the seven accusers named in the sentences were com- 
promised not only by their own statements, unsuccessfully 
defended in the sentences, but by the sworn testimony of 
the seven witnesses for the defence, as well as by the 
comparison of the argument of the accusation (prosecu- 
tion) with that of the defence, in a manner at once de- 
structive of their credibility and of the argumentation of 
the sentences, seeking to uphold their credibility in the 
interests of the prosecution, although the prosecution 
refused to credit many of their sworn statements. The 
irresistible inference of this exposure is most damaging 
to the judicial integrity of the sentences, as will appear 
more clearly from the analysis of their reasons to be 
given below. 

2 . The degradation of criminal justice in the first sentence 
is demonstrated both in the parts relating to the acquittal, 
and in those relating to the condemnation of the accused. 
In order to put this clearly, it is necessary to remember 
that the first judicial sentence in the enumeration of its 
reasons absolutely rejects any and every criminal charge 
preferred against the accused, except that of sectarism, 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. \Jl 

and declares them to be utterly unfounded ; that is, it 
acquits them, and yet in spite of this actual acquittal, 
fails to declare such acquittal in the tenor (as it is techni- 
cally called) of the sentence. But the law (§ 488) ex- 
pressly requires that the crime of which the person ac- 
cused is acquitted, or for which he is punished, be ex- 
plicitly named in the judgment, i. <?., the tenor. This 
failure was a crying act of injustice, because the accused, 
though acquitted of every criminal charge and condemned 
only for (the unproved) allegation of having founded a 
sect, were not formally declared innocent of those charges, 
and further injured in the consequent interpretation of 
the sentence by the public that they were condemned for 
the commission of the offences falsely charged against 
them. In other words, the court had foimd them in- 
nocent and yet failed to declare them innocent. This 
failure on the part of the court to specify in the sentence 
the innocence of the accused was a wrong opposed to 
the evidence, to law and to logic, and it would be diffi- 
cult to brand it more effectually than is done in the dig- 
nified language and terrible logic of the " Aufklarung." 

The three points just named, viz.: the evidence, the 
law, and logic on which a judicial sentence must be 
founded, and for which the judge is responsible to the 
accused and to public opinion, complete, according to 
the "Aufklarung," the degradation of criminal justice in 
the condenmatory part of the sentence. The enormities 
in this respect almost beggar belief, for in the first place 
the record proves that the accused never intended to 
found a sect and never did found one ; in the second 
place, neither the criminal code nor the common law 
of Prussia contains a law under which the accused clergy- 
men could be proceeded against, and that Wollner's 



172 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

notorious religious edict of 1788, directed against neology 
(repudiated and opposed by the accused clergymen), and 
abrogated in 1794 by the common law, and in 1798 by 
cabinet order, was illegally and in defiance of logic and 
common sense perverted and misapplied to the case of 
two men who dared to entertain a private philosophical 
view on the origin of the world, etc., not shared by the 
dominant theologians at Konigsberg, and last, not least, 
that the corpus juris of the Roman empire was ransacked 
for certain provisions made under Valentinian and 
Marcian, fourteen hundred years before, against the he- 
retical sects of the period, and made the basis for finding 
Ebel and Diestel guilty of having founded a heretical 
sect. Having perused the atrocious nonsense raked up, 
twisted, misapplied and tortured into fitting by those 
remarkable custodians of the law for the administration 
of justice, the writer can think only of two parallels, the 
one belonging to the realm of fable — the wolf and the 
lamb — and the other, the history of the Inquisition, and 
feels constrained to admire the extraordinary and digni- 
fied moderation of the concluding paragraphs of this 
section of the " Aufklarung : " " In presence of all the 
particulars furnished in the preceding pages demonstrat- 
ing that the sentence in question has with a daring stroke 
of the pen violated not only the truth as established by 
evidence, but also the laws of right and reason ; remem- 
bering moreover that only a portion of those violations 
has been denounced, as it lay beyond the limits and ends 
of this work to furnish an exhaustive criticism of this 
sentence which would have exhausted the patience of 
the reader,— remembering all this, the conviction is ir- 
resistible that it is impossible to conceive a more humiliate 
ing degradation of the administration of criminal justice in 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 73 

Prussia than the fact that such a document, duly authen- 
ticated by the confirmatory formula V. R. W. {yon 
Rcchtswegen, i. e., because of right) and the signature of 
a respected court of justice, regarded as impartial, could 
have been published to the world, without pretending to 
distribute the degree of responsibility of the different 
individuals who "because of right and because of wrong" 
participated in its production, the most prejudiced will 
be forced to confess that this sentence is responsible for 
the commission of a crime vastly greater than that which 
it pretended had been committed, and that it furnishes 
an array of facts not by any means redounding to the 
honor of its authors. 

"Church history furnishes, it is true, examples in bygone 
ages of condemnatory judgments in matters of faith, whereby 
the benefactors of the race have been sacrificed to party 
hatred because they opposed the universal corruption, and 
false witnesses charged them with some transgression or 
crime ; but it cannot instance another judicial sentence 
drawn up in this century marked at all decisive points by an 
utter disregard of truth, law, and logic, and unable to pro- 
duce an offence punishable in law, pronounced a judgment 
of condemnation on views and opinions, and ruthlessly smote 
in the face the advanced civilization and tendency of the age 
for the purpose of crushing out a ministerial activity fitted 
truly and lastingly to meet the wants of our time. 

" This sentence is and remains, therefore, a significant 
document, illustrative of the danger accruing to right and 
morality by any and every deviation from law. The futility 
of its attempted perversion of truth into untruth is also an 
attestation of the purity and rectitude of the true Christian 
life, which, in spite of outward oppression and in proportion 
to the violence meted out to it by the powers of the world, 
always has and ever will overcome the world." 



174 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

This " sentence," as well as the final one, already fre- 
quently referred to, cannot be given to the reader in this 
volume, for their production would necessitate about two 
additional volumes of the size of this ; the fact is that 
the two sentences cover about a thousand folio pages in 
manuscript, and this solitary fact may suffice to illustrate 
the difference between the old system of criminal pro- 
cedure in private and the new system of public trials 
(in Germany). One single word in case of acquittal, and 
only two words in case of condemnation are needed now, 
where a thousand pages of foolscap were required forty 
years ago. If the case of Ebel and Diestel were extant 
now, no grand jury in England or America would dare 
to indict them, and, should an indictment be made, the 
case could not be tried at all, and would be quashed the 
first day. 

The third and last section of this part bears the title : 
3. The condemnation of the whole suit by the final sentence. 

The judgment of the Criminal Senate of the Kararaer- 
gericht at Berlin, drawn up March 28, 1839, and pub- 
lished five months later, August 30, 1839, was to the 
effect that the two accused clergymen — 

" Be deprived of their office and declared unfit for any pub- 
lic office, for intentional violation of their duty, and that, 
moveover, Dr. Ebel, for having founded a sect, be removed 
to some public institution and detained there until he have 
given proof of amendment." 

From this judgment Ebel and Diestel appealed to the 
Senate of Appeal of the Supreme Court, and their de- 
fender in the first instance, Dr. Crelinger, drew up a 
lucid brief, clearly showing that the " Acts " contained 
abundant data disproving all the charges preferred 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 175 

against his clients, and moving upon the recital of those 
data their full acquittal, and submitting that the corre- 
spondence of the Consistory and of Schon with the Min- 
isterium at Berlin and Minister von Alten stein be re- 
quired to be procured, and that the sworn statements of 
Frau von Bardeleben, a witness for the defence, be re- 
ceived in evidence. 

But as both that correspondence and the depositions 
of said witness would have unravelled the machinations 
of the promoters of the persecution, the motion impli- 
cating Schon and other high officials was wantonly disre- 
garded, and after the further lapse of eighteen months 
the court drafted, on December 4, 1841, and caused to 
be published at Kb'nigsberg on February 2, 1842, the fol- 
lowing judgment : 

" That the finding of the Criminal Senate of March 28, 1 839, 
published August 30, 1839, De so f ar modified that the ac- 
cused be deprived of their office and be declared unfit for any 
public office, not for intentional violation of their duty, but 
for violation of their duty from gross negligence, to wit: that 
the accused, Dr. Johann Wilhelm Ebel, be dismissed from 
his office of archdeacon and preacher of the Old-Town 
Church at Konigsberg, and that the accused Georg Heinrich 
Diestel be dismissed from his office of preacher of the Haber- 
berg Church at Konigsberg; and further, that Dr. Ebel be 
acquitted from the charge of having founded a sect, and that 
the finding of his detention in a public institution be can- 
celled." 

It will be observed that this judgment cancelled in- 
deed the most crying blunder of the lower court, viz. : 
the condemnation on the ground of having founded a 
sect, but upheld, nevertheless, the chief wrong in prin- 
cipio, namely, that free inquiry and the effort of urging 



176 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

the application of biblical principles to the thought and 
life of men were condemned as criminal and visited with 
criminal punishment. 

The antagonism running through the second sentence 
both in its acquitting and condemnatory portions is 
very pronounced. Forced to reject the charge of sec- 
tarianism, and not daring to uphold the support of the 
Religious Edict as a monstrosity abhorrent to the spirit 
of the age, it nevertheless inflicted a punishment without 
an offence to be punished, and thus involuntarily con- 
demned the whole suit, by showing that the criminal 
procedure was utterly unfounded and unjustifiable. 

The reader may desire to know how the court could 
thus stultify itself and perpetrate so outrageous a piece 
of injustice as that of punishing men for something 
which they had not only not committed, but of which 
they were acquitted.- This explanation will now be 
given in brief. 

It is comprehended in the single proposition that the 
second sentence, like the first, both in its acquitting 
and condemnatory portions, went in direct opposition to 
the evidence, to the laws of the land, and to the dictates 
of logic. The acquittal from the charge of sectarianism 
on the ground that the founding of a sect necessitates 
separation from the established church, and that in the 
case in hand no such separation was attempted, designed 
or effected, is judicially conclusive ; and there the mat- 
ter ought to have ended. But the author of the sentence 
undertook the superfluous reiteration on sixty folio pages 
of all the defamatory charges of the accusers, without an 
equally explicit recital of their rebuttal, which in all fair- 
ness he was bound to do. He introduced the evidence 
for the defence only to set it aside, and distort the case. 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 77 

The condemnatory part of the sentence deals with : 

1. Familiar conversation with friends on metaphysical, 
philosophical and theological questions. 

2. Conversational expressions relating to the sanctity 
of the marriage relation, and 

3. Treats these conversations as violations of official 
duty, and on that account inflicts the punishment named 
in the judgment. 

Reference to Appendix B, where the topics touched 
under 1 are fully illustrated in copious extracts, will 
suffice to show the absurdity of making them the subject 
of criminal inquiry, and the outrage of branding their 
conversational discussion as a criminal offence. If the 
official record were not there to prove the unheard-of 
injustice, it would be incredible. Let the matter be 
illustrated. I have before me the December number of 
the Contemporary Review (1881) which contains Profes- 
sor Calderwood's article on Evolution. Let a clergy- 
man, who i#in the habit of discussing intellectual or 
speculative topics with a select number of educated mem- 
bers of his congregation, make evolution the theme of 
inquiry, and avow his conviction that " the rational is 
the key to existence." Some one charges him there- 
upon with heresy and sectarism, the matter is made 
the subject of criminal investigation, and in spite of his 
protestation to the contrary, of his having never taught 
anything of the kind, in fact of his having never taught 
anything contrary to the received standards of his 
church, but simply conversed on the subject of evolution 
with his friends, and in spite of incontrovertible proof 
to that effect, those conversations are nevertheless de- 
nounced as criminal violations of his duty as a clergy- 
man, and he is on that account illegally punished with 



178 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

deprivation. That is the case of Ebel and Diestel. 
That aspect of the case need not detain us. 

2. Conversational expressions relating to the sanctity 
of the marriage relation. 

The matter referred to here had been made the start- 
ing-point of all the infamous slanders circulated in the 
lithographed letter, in the press, and otherwise against 
Ebel and his sect, especially by Schon, Fink and id omne 
genus. It has likewise been unearthed, in the most un- 
warrantable manner by William Hep worth Dixon in his 
sensational book called " Spiritual Wives." The present 
writer, very soon after the appearance of that bad book, 
took occasion publicly to denounce its true character in 
an article on the Konigsberg Religious Suit, printed in 
the Bibliotheca Sacra, October, 1869. It is referred to 
here merely as a matter of history, for the book itself 
has been buried in well-merited oblivion a considerable 
number of years, and Dixon, who likewise died years 
ago, never dared to answer the scathing pamphlet of Dr. 
Wilhelm Ebel,* in which he is openly charged with and 
proved to be guilty of malicious and deliberate false- 
hood. Although the matter might be passed over in 
general terms, it seems better to produce from the 
record all that there is of it, in order that it be perma- 
nently available to any and all desirous of knowing the 
truth, and how easy it is, by persistent and lascivious 
calumny, to degrade the noblest utterances to the vilest 
and most ignominious ribaldry. I do not propose to 
stain the pages of this book, or to insult the memory 
of the sainted dead with the repetition of those calum- 

* Dixon's und Dunker's Seelenbrdnte silkouettirt, von Wilhelm 
Ebel, Dr. phil. Basel und Ludwigsburg, 1869, 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 79 

nies, but shall confine myself to the evidence in this 
matter. 

The whole conversation, conducted in the presence of 
witnesses, and sworn to by one of the chief instigators of 
the suit as being the whole, was, in the words of Eduard von 
Hahnenfeld,* made under oath and, in writing, as follows: 

" I remember how Ebel, in a conversation with several 
gentlemen, in response to questions submitted to him, called 
attention to the circumstance that man created in the image 
of God was originally so constituted that his body and soul, 
his understanding and feelings, were harmoniously adjusted, 
that the promptings of the flesh did not disturb him, seeing 
that his intellectual nature dominated over the physical,' and 
that then, in the enjoyment of peace and a good conscience, 
there was nothing to interfere with his upward look to God. 
But that peace and that calm upward look to God vanished 
when he fell into sin, in consequence whereof the equilibrium 
of his powers became disturbed, sense began to predominate 
and animal promptings to agitate him. From that time for- 
ward he stood in need of garments, for sin having also dis- 
turbed the sexual relations, mankind ever since became so 
sadly degraded that the majority of the race yielded to animal 
promptings and to carnal appetites that war against the soul, 
on which account the holy Scriptures warn us to abstain 
from fornication and enjoin the duty of chastity. Holy Scrip- 
ture, moreover, recommends and exhorts us to the recovery 
of chastity, and to yield ourselves to the influence of the 
Spirit in order that, according to our original destiny, reason, 
and not the animal part of our nature, should dominate. 
The noble-minded accordingly consider it their duty to main- 
tain purity in love. It is true that in this their aim good and 
spiritually-minded men have erred and failed ; some, deeming 
purity in love an utter impossibility, insisting upon the prac- 
tice of celibacy as conformable to the will of God ; but this is 

* Religiose Bewegung, pp. 73-75. 



l8o FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

contradicted by the tenor of the whole sacred volume, which 
recommends the purification and exaltation, not the exter- 
mination, of the divinely-implanted promptings of our nature. 
Other5, indeed, believing in and striving after the possibility 
of restoring sexual purity by the perilous delusion of over- 
coming temptation through familiarity, wander likewise from 
the teachings of Holy Scripture, which contains not the faint- 
est trace of recommending the mortifying of the flesh by such 
arbitrary means ; we should not seek without for that which 
must be born within us. 

" The sense of shame must not be suppressed, for though 
it entered our nature with the fall, it is a precious thing to be 
well guarded, and as a witness of the Holy Spirit within 
us that we are sinful and have fallen from original inno- 
cence ; the sense of shame should correct us, and we ought 
to be very careful not to destroy it. It is only by living in 
the Spirit that we can establish the supremacy of mind over 
sense, and not fulfil the lusts of the flesh. 

" Liberties with members of the other sex are reprehensible 
under all circumstances, incompatible with proper decorum, 
and perilous to pure morals, on which account the commerce 
of the sexes requires to be hedged in by the utmost precau- 
tions. 

" In the conjugal relation, likewise, purity ought to prevail, 
and sense ever be subordinate to mind. Marriage, to those 
who are born of God, is the beginning of the restoration of 
our original purity ; those united together in holy wedlock 
love each other consciously under the sacred promptings of 
the Spirit, each regarding the other as the child of the Father 
in Heaven, who gave each to the other for their mutual 
happiness, and their union is not like that of brutes and brut- 
ish men, the promptings of low instincts, but impelled by the 
promptings of love, whose seat is the heart, and whose Lord 
is the Spirit." 

Now these were the sentiments of Ebel, and who can 
deny that they are lofty, true, and ennobling ? All else 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. l8l 

was calumny. And such advice, kindly and lovingly 
tendered to those who, in the course of a long ministry, 
came to seek it at his hands ; advice tending to purify, 
elevate, and ennoble the lower instincts of our nature 
into divinely implanted promptings designed to make 
and keep us pure and good, was condemned as criminal 
by an insensate judge on the testimony of avowed and 
convicted sensualists, imbruted in carnality of the lowest 
and most abandoned order.* 

But the crowning piece of this arbitrary sentence, in 
open conflict with the evidence, the laws of the land, and 
with reason, is the absurdity of calling these imaginary 
offences instances of violated official duty, for it is im- 
possible to conceive by what process of reason, logic, or 
justice a clergyman may be deprived of the privilege of 
private conversation, which is accorded to every other 
human being not a clergyman, and especially guaranteed 
by law to every Prussian subject, who enjoys the inalien- 
able rights of liberty of thought, liberty of conscience, 
and liberty of speech. According to this wonderful 
sentence a clergyman, because he is a clergyman, ceases 
to have a private life, to forfeit the privilege of private 
thought and its expression to his friends in private conver- 
sation. 

From this second and final sentence there was no 
further appeal to any other earthly tribunal in Prussia, 
but there was an appeal to the Highest Tribunal, superior 
to earthly courts of justice, to the Tribunal of eternal truth 
and right in the courts above, and that appeal, made in 
humble, earnest prayer, in meek resignation, and trium- 
phant faith has not been made in vain, for He that 

* See what is said of Sachs, Hake, and others, pp. 121 sq. ; 157. 



1 82 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

judgeth righteous judgment has long since established 
the innocence of Ebel and Diestel, and so overruled the 
injustice meted out to them that the very wrath of man 
has been made to praise Him, and the righteousness of 
His persecuted servants has been brought forth as the 
light and their judgment as the noonday. 

There are still several particulars connected with the 
period of the suit which remain to be chronicled. After 
the suspension of Ebel, there was one day found in a 
street of Konigsberg the copy of a petition, sent by the 
catechumens of Ebel to His Majesty the King of Prussia, 
which, on account of the beautiful and touching tribute 
it pays to him, and because of the tender sympathy in 
which it originated, deserves to be put on permanent 
record. It runs thus : 

" High and most potent king ! Most gracious, and dearly 
beloved king and lord ! Respectfully and full of confidence 
we venture to approach the throne of our prince, and urge 
upon the paternal heart of our dear king the earnest suppli- 
cation : ' Give us back our beloved teacher ! ' 

"We, the catechumens of Dr. Ebel, archdeacon and 
preacher of the Old-Town Church of the city, some of us 
having been confirmed by him within the last few years, and 
others accepted of him for instruction several months ago, 
feel most deeply pained, because malice has succeeded by 
invented falsehoods and calumnies to bring about the suspen- 
sion from office of this our venerable religious instructor. 
Although himself far above such base accusations which are 
unable to cast him down, but fill us with profound abhorrence 
and painful sorrow, and constrain us to forward these words 
of childlike supplication to the dear father of our country to- 
wards whom the hearts of all of us go out in hopeful expect- 
ation. We feel ourselves deserted, bereft as we are of our 
fatherly friend and teacher, and many a one among us ex- 



J 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 183 

claimed : ' I shall write to our king ! ' this could not remain 
an empty speech, and we resolved to pour out the earnest 
desire and most cherished longing of our heart before our 
dear prince ; oh, that we were able to describe in lively colors 
the piety and love of Dr. Ebel, rendering happy all that sur- 
round him, and prompting the hearts of all men to whatever 
is good, and to present to your Majesty a portraiture of his 
life consecrated to God. Words cannot express it — we have 
experienced in our hearts the shining influence of our godly 
teacher, the vital power of divine love streaming forth from 
his every word, mightily quickening from death unto life, and 
love, and obedience to God and man, and causing us to de- 
light in the practice of virtue and the discharge of our duty. 
If we were able in our feeble words to delineate the picture 
of this man who has only God before his eyes and in his heart, 
and has likewise understood to fill our hearts with the desire 
to love God and walk in His ways — our dear king, who loves 
godliness and piety, and in whom next to God we place our 
entire hope, we are convinced would perceive that he is in- 
nocent. The hours in which our dear teacher has made us 
acquainted with the will of God were until now the most 
beautiful of our life, henceforth it will be that hour in which 
the grace and justice of your Majesty shall restore him to us. 
May we not have to wait long in vain, and may our united 
supplication reach the heart of our dear and venerated king ! 
Yes, it will be done, we shall not have asked in vain for 
justice. 

"When Dr. Ebel announced to the congregation your 
Majesty's order for the rebuilding of the Old-Town Church, 
he gratefully exclaimed : ' Yea, thy king hath comforted thee 
and turned thy sorrow into joy. Give ear, now, every mem- 
ber of this congregation, give ear thou royal city, give ear O 
fatherland throughout thy borders, the heart of our king hath 
comforted us ! ' Will he not also comfort us now ? 

"Confidingly looking up to the throne of our dear king, 
whom our dear teacher has taught us to honor, love and re- 
member in our prayers, we remain in profound obedience 



1 84 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

and with respectful affection your Majesty's most faithful 
children." 

The event referred to at the close of the foregoing 
petition belongs to the year 1835, and was the result of 
Ebel's indefatigable energy ; the king had subscribed a 
handsome sum and augmented it by a new one along 
with the cabinet order drawn up on the evening before 
his birthday (Aug. 3, 1835) ; he als o approved the plan of 
enclosing the site of the Old-Town Church (which Schon 
wanted to convert into a cabbage market), and of plant- 
ing it with trees, as a standing memorial of the planting 
of God which for centuries had been so tenderly nursed 
on that sacred spot.* Ebel at the time made this modest 
entry among his memoranda : " O gracious God, thou 
hast crowned our effort with success in enabling us to 
provide a new church for the Old-Town congregation. 
But a preacher after thine own heart I have been unable 
(as presiding officer of the church collegium) to secure. " 

It is gratifying to record that the last prayer also has 
been mercifully heard and answered, and the Reverend 
Mr. Lackner, the present incumbent of the church, is 
such a man, and delights to trace and recognize the 
blessed fruits of Ebel's ministry. Not long ago he is re- 

* It was Count Kanitz, who, in order to prevent the desecration 
of that hallowed spot, rented it for an indefinite number of years, 
bore the expense of enclosing it with an iron fence and transforming 
it into a beautiful park, an ornament of the city. The place belongs 
now either to the municipality or to the congregation ; it is in a 
state of excellent preservation, and displays in the midst of shrub- 
bery and flowers a handsome fountain. As the trees and plants 
were deemed a fitting symbol of the planting of God, so the foun- 
tain is an equally appropriate emblem of the fountain of living 
waters for the healing of the people. 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 85 

ported to have stated to a lady at Konigsberg : " How 
could the effects of Dr. Ebel's ministry have continued 
so long, if a single iota of all the calumnies about him 
had been founded in truth ? . . . . When I meet 
those who would maintain the contrary, I make fiery 
opposition, for I know better than any one what kind of 
seed he sowed." 

Another pleasing and interesting event belonging to 
the trying period of the suit, when the storm of persecu- 
tion was fiercest, is the following. The people at Konigs- 
berg, I mean the great mass of the people, were utterly 
incredulous as to the slanders so sedulously and persist- 
ently propagated, and their faith in Ebel was as unshaken 
as their affection for him was deep-seated ; they knew 
that he was a persecuted man, and they sought occasion 
for the public expression of their opinion. It is cus- 
tomary at Konigsberg that on Christmas Eve bands of 
musicians pass through the streets playing solemn Christ- 
mas chorals. Such a chorus of trombones was approach- 
ing the street in which Ebel lived. The family was as- 
sembled in the Doctor's room for the purpose of celebrat- 
ing in the true German fashion the time-honored Weih- 
nachtsbescheerung, and heard the solemnly joyous strains 
of the majestic trombones ; the windows were opened 
that all might hear the beautiful music as it went past ; 
the chorus did not go past, but took up its stand before 
the house, and in the hearing of the whole church-square, 
right under Ebel's windows, played an entire stanza of 
the ancient hymn : 

" Gelobet seist du Jesus Christ, 
Dass du Mensch geboren bist" etc. 

The good doctor wept tears of joy over this beautiful 



1 86 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

celebration of the " birthday of the Lord Jesus," and this 
public and touching recognition of his worth. 

The judgment of the final sentence of course imposed 
the necessity of an enforced outward and official dissolu- 
tion of his connection with the Old-Town Church ; the 
far stronger inward connection with every member of his 
flock, which lived in their hearts and souls, could not be 
broken by that unjust decree ; those ties were in- 
dissoluble, and were understood to be so both by him- 
self and the people. 

In his farewell addressed to the officers of the con- 
gregation he wrote : 

" The judgment of the Supreme Senate of Appeals of the 
Royal Kammergericht deprives me of my office of archdeacon 
of the Old-Town Church. God has vouchsafed to honor His 
servant by deigning to set upon him and upon his nearly 
thirty years' service in the Christian ministry the seal of legit- 
imation, and to utter thereby a word of profound significance 
to all familiar with his ministry of the Word." 

A letter written by him about this time affords further 
insight of his feelings : 

"Time in its development hastens onward to maturity, 
and God, who willeth that all men should be saved, also 
willeth that by free choice laying hold of salvation they should 
come to a knowledge of the truth. This knowledge, however, 
can only be found through faith in the declarations of the 
Bible. Our age needs a philosophy, and seeks one ; but it 
will continue in perplexity until it learns to subordinate rea- 
son to the divine Word. Such is the drift and spirit of the 
philosophy which ranging itself below the Bible, advances no 
other claim than that of supplying the thinking mind with 
a key to open the Bible, and repudiate the views and conse- 
quences which others have imputed to it. This philosophy, 
instead of oppugning the fundamental truths of the evangeli- 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 1 87 

cal church, confirms them, and is a trusty weapon directed 
at once against the unbelief and the show religion of the 
age. 

" With profound gratitude to God I now confess, that while 
other philosophies have carried away from the Bible hun- 
dreds of my brethren in the ministry, this philosophy has pre- 
served me from the loose seductions of a turbulent age, and 
given me in the evangelical confession of faith a strength of 
conviction which, in spite of incessant hostility, has remained 
unshaken in strictly biblical preaching. 

" Committing therefore all things to Him, who gave to man 
the word of the Bible, which, as to the whole of the contents 
I hold to be divine truth, and trusting in Him who has thus 
far so wonderfully led me, I retire from office with a quiet 
mind." 

From still another letter, less formal, written to Pastor 
Gasbeck in Preuss-Eylau, his brother-in-law, and bear- 
ing date March 14, 1842, are drawn these passages : 

" Never shall I forget the love and sympathy with which in 
the spring-time of our friendship you rejoiced with me over 
the victory of God over the adversaries of His truth, which 
you even then (in 18 14) did know. The authorities have in 
the year 1841 become guilty of what the Ministerium for Eccle- 
siastical Affairs then described as inconsistency and an act of 
violence bearing the appearance of persecution. Still we have 
His blessed word that 'the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against His church ; ' and in the measure as I feel conscious 
(what my adversaries were constrained to admit) that all my 
work originated in sincere faith in Him, and in the desire to 
reconcile this my sacred faith with reason, I am cheerful and 
composed. These words, used by Consistorial Rath Kahler 
in his lampoon (in condemnation of his own conduct) as de- 
scriptive of the frame of mind in which I received the sus- 
pension, thank God, continue to express my feelings, for I 
know that my life has always been consecrated to God and to 



1 88 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

the service of my fellow-men in love. . . . There are 
moments in life when language fails us, when it behooves us 
to be still, and without advancing any claims, to depend on 
the love of our friends. . . . And now, my dear ones, 
we unite in love to you and your children with our best 
wishes, in remembrance of the years when you, along with 
others, heard from my mouth, and I may add from my inmost 
heart, the message of God ; thanks, my warmest thanks, for 
every proof of your love, which has often, very often done me 
good, and while I write this, moved to tears, I beg that your 
prayers and remembrance may accompany us to our retire- 
ment." 




It will be remembered that Mrs. Ebel was the eldest 
daughter of the burgess of Quittainen. The good bur- 
gess had gone home at the time of the suit, but his widow 
was still on earth. One of her sons, Bernhardt Lein- 
weber, had been very successful as a farmer, and was 
devotedly attached to Ebel, through whose instrumen- 
tality and that of Kanitz he had made his way in the 
world. When he heard that the Ebels were about to 
leave Konigsberg, he felt that he ought to do something 
to lighten their burden, and a few days before they bade 
adieu to the beloved city, he came with a ponderous 
train laden with solid products of his farm, in the shape 
of potatoes, flour, dried fruit and the like, begging them 
kindly to accept his free-will offering as a loving con- 
tribution to their new establishment. 

About five weeks after the foregoing letter was written, 



THE RELIGIOUS SUIT. 189 

and after all the arrangements for leaving the parson- 
age had been completed, after the sad and last words 
of farewell had been spoken, there came early in the 
morning of April 26, 1842, Baron Ernst von Heyking 
(the same from whose beautiful manuscript so many in- 
teresting details have been taken) to be with the family 
to the last. He had really come to comfort and cheer 
by his presence Ebel and his family, but the tender, gen- 
tle, kindly man felt so sad at heart that instead of com- 
forting them, Ebel had to comfort him ; tears glistened 
in his eyes and in his grief language died on his lips. 
But he was there in love, and it was he who helped them 
into the coach, and when his straining eyes could no 
longer see the coach which carried away his dear friends, 
and the sound of the wheels grew fainter on the pave- 
ment, he returned to lock the doors, and took the keys 
to the parish-clerk. 

And so Ebel was gone from his dear Old-Town Church, 
gone from Konigsberg, and the enemies of that godly 
man, and the enemies of the truth which he so manfully 
and nobly advocated seemed to triumph. It was a poor 
triumph : what became of them individually I cannot 
tell ; I only know that Ebel forgave them truly and sin- 
cerely the wrong they had done him, and that the Prime 
Minister of Prussia, the late Rudolph von Auerswald, the 
personal friend of the reigning emperor of Germany, told 
his sister, the sainted Countess Ida von der Groben, in a 
conversation held at Hoheneck, a number of years later 
in reference to them that " they had all come to grief.' 
They have long since gone to their account, and it is not 
necessary to name them again. On the suit itself the 
words of Lactantius {Institut v.) seem to furnish an ap- 
propriate commentary : 



190 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

" What maybe the chief element of this strong, determined 
hatred ? Does truth bring forth hatred ? Or are they ashamed 
of their wickedness in presence of the righteous and the good ? 
Or is it both ? For truth is hated for no other reason than 
that the sinner desires full scope for his sins, and thinks that 
his wickedness can only then be fully gratified when there is 
none left to rebuke it. On this account the pagans want to 
exterminate the Christians as the witnesses of their malice 
and wickedness, for they loathe them as those who rebuke 
their lives. For why should a few be good at so inconve- 
nient a season, and by their good conversation reproach the 
general immorality ? Why should not all be equally bad, 
thievish, unchaste, adulterous, perjured, lustful and cunning ? 
Such being the case, it did not suffice to oppress the Chris- 
tians by outward acts of violence ; they had, if possible, to be 
morally annihilated. And how could that be done more 
effectually than by distorting their doctrine " (branding it as 
infamous) " and by slandering their conversation ? " * 

* It is remarkable, instructive, and most consoling to the be- 
liever in the Bible as the Word of God, that no power of human or 
earthly origin can prevail against it. The rationalists and Eras- 
tians of Konigsberg thought they had killed the Bible when they 
cried down Schonherr, and strove by calumny to kill Ebel. Their 
very opposition made the cause more prominent, and their calum- 
nies brought out the truth. The pure evangelical and biblical 
teaching of Ebel has raised him to a pedestal of glory, and his name 
will be delivered to posterity as that of saint and martyr, who in the 
nineteenth century proclaimed, and was persecuted because he pro- 
claimed, personal holiness as the indispensable concomitant and 
exponent of the Christian life. The names and the memory of his 
persecutors are buried in oblivion, but the name of Ebel, the wit- 
ness and lover of Jesus, is better known than ever, and the truth of 
his beautiful life will be read wherever English and German speech 
are known. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



RE S T 



It has been stated that the great mass of the people 
at Konigsberg . never believed the charges that had 
been brought against Ebel, while the suit was pending, 
and when it became known that he was acquitted of any 
and everything that malice had been able to invent, that 
he was likewise acquitted of the mysterious crime of 
having founded a sect, of whose very existence nobody 
at Konigsberg had the remotest idea, and concerning 
which it moreover transpired that it never had any ex- 
istence except in the heated and inventive brains of the 
promoters of the suit, the people, of course, who knew 
and loved Ebel, and knew far better than any one else the 
character and aims of his opponents, were more devoted 
to him than ever before, when in spite of that knowledge, 
in spite of his innocence, he was unjustly deprived of his 
office. He was in their eyes a martyr to official incompe- 
tence and theological hatred ; and they would have loved 
hio just as much as they did, if the stupid sect-business 
had been true ; they knew that Ebel was their friend, that 
he preached the truth, that he was a good man and a true, 
and the dogma, or rather the speculative concept of the 
dualistic principle lay in a region they could not and did 
not care to explore ; and as that dogma or principle had 

I 9 I 



I92 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

no more connection with sectarianism than the theory of 
the northwest passage or the primary uses and designs of 
the pyramids, they left the matter supremely alone, and 
only grieved, and in the bitterness of sorrow, as a law- 
abiding people, submitted to the inevitable separation 
from him ; but they never ceased to love him and, as 
will be seen by-and-by, looked upon him as their God- 
sent minister until he fell asleep. As for the noble band 
of his personal friends, they were true to him to a man 
they loved him and esteemed him, and all that were 
near to him — if it were possible better than ever before — 
and the only question among them was as to who should 
enjoy the privilege of doing most for him. 

Where was he to live ? What was he to do ? Let 
the matter be realized. He had just completed the 
fifty-eighth year of his life ; by his side stood his help- 
mate, the brave and gentle Augusta, and four children, 
three sons and a daughter. Lebrecht, the oldest, held 
a tutorship ; * Wilhelm was just beginning to make his 
way, and Theodor was still pursuing his studies ; and 
there was Adalberta, the only surviving daughter (an- 
other daughter, Justine, had died in childhood). She 
was a merry child of eleven summers, whom the good 
Ebel used to call his "jubilee-gift," because she, the 
long wished-for daughter, had come just two days before 
the twenty-fifth anniversary of his ordination ; her 
bright ways and constant mirthfulness were like sunshine 
to him in the gloom of the dismal suit. This charming 



* The Rev. Lebrecht Ebel settled in Pomerania, where he found 
a fast and true friend in Count von Munchow, see pp. 141, 203. 
He died at Berlin, and was buried at Sallentin in 1872, and his two 
surviving sons hold positions in the postal service of Germany. 



REST. I93 

Christian household, united in love, had to be scattered, 
for though Adelberta would go with her parents, the sons 
had to be left behind, and that was a great and sore trial 
to Ebel and his wife, especially to her ; for though one 
and all were good, dear children, brought up in the fear 
of God, and devotedly attached to their parents, and 
though provision had been made for their comfort, yet 
the old home would be broken, the tender ministrations 
of that mother and the wise counsel of the father be 
withheld from them. That was what deprivation meant 
in the family which affected all alike in the sorrow it 
occasioned. Nevertheless there was no deeper gloom, 
clouds were passing over them, and they saw and felt 
their shadow for a moment, but presently sunlight burst 
in upon them. There came a letter from Pomerania, 
from Ebel's old and true friend, Count Carl von Miin- 
chow, a gallant soldier, and a soldier of Christ, inviting 
him to live on his estate, on which he placed a house 
and garden at his disposal ; and Eduard von Hahnen- 
feld sent kindly greetings, begging him to accept on his 
estate a new house and a garden in token of his love. 
It was difficult at first to reach a decision, for he could 
not accept both offers, and both were as much beloved 
by Ebel as t-hey loved him. But ultimately it was de- 
cided to accept that of Hahnenfeld, who likewise invited 
the Countess Ida to come along, and so the family went 
to Grunenfeld in East Prussia, chiefly because it was so 
much nearer to Konigsberg than the delightful Pome- 
ranian home of Miinchow. Also Baron E. von Heyking 
and his wife were induced to come to Grunenfeld ; the 
baroness lived there until she fell asleep in 1869. 

Six happy years they spent in the rural retirement of 
Grunenfeld ; the busy, stirring activity of the Konigs- 



194 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

berg charge was changed for literary pursuits, and the 
intellectual bias of all that were there, the eminent social 
virtues and graces of the hospitable, warm-hearted 
Hahnenfeld and his amiable, interesting wife, the bright 
sallies of the gifted Countess Ida, made the little colony 
a haven of blissful repose. It was not by any means 
lonely there ; the innocent prattle of childhood kept 
them all lively enough ; the present owner of the pater- 
nal estate, Friedrich, was then a merry little boy ; during 
those years his two sisters were born, and that meant 
not only joyous baptismal celebrations, but unbroken 
daily animation ; visitors would come and go, and the 
summer and Christmas vacations reunited for the time 
all the scattered members of the family. Then there 
were the diversified pleasures of a pure country life ; 
the estate was quite extensive and the tenantry and 
laborers not a few in number. And Hahnenfeld was a 
very kind and just lord, respected and beloved for his 
sympathy and thoughtfulness. At Christmas the village 
youth gathered round stately spruce trees, gaily illumi- 
nated with a profusion of wax lights amid golden orna- 
ments symbolic of the heavens above in sun and moon 
and stars, and angels, and of the earth beneath from 
every kingdom of nature, clusters of fruit in gorgeous 
hues as it grew in sunny climes, or more wondrous 
still, had been produced by the art of the glass-blower, 
the tinsmith or the confectioner in harmonious juxta 7 
position with lambs and dogs, and perhaps some diminu- 
tive elephant, horse or whale of marchpane dangling, oh, 
so joyously and kindly from the glossy twigs and 
branches of the Christmas-tree, at the base of which 
there were still other marvels in the shape of sheep-folds, 
and arks of Noah, and dolls with domestic establish- 



REST. 195 

ments, whips and knives, fur caps and skates and books, 
drums and harmonicas, trumpets with green tassels and 
crimson lining, and sundry more which Christkindchen had 
got from all manner of places, for all manner of folk 
who sang Christmas carols and celebrated the birth- 
day of the Lord Jesus, and went home happy and de- 
lighted and blessing the good lord of the manor who was 
such a favorite with Christkindchen that all these precious 
things were left at the manor for the special happiness 
of the Grunenfeld village children. 

A visit to Konigsberg in the winter of 1846-4^ by 
Ebel and his family was marked by an incident quite 
touching in its way. He sent his daughter Adelberta to 
Pastor Schulz, archdeacon of the Lobnicht Church, to 
attend his lectures for confirmation. It is customary in 
the Lutheran Church that the parents of the catechumens 
offer to the minister on that occasion a honorarium. 
Ebel, of course, observed the custom in the case of his 
daughter, but Schulz had his own views on the subject, 
and wrote the following very commendable letter : 

"Most Honored Brother : — If you deem me worthy to 
address you as my brother, it follows that betwixt brothers 
in the ministry the question of remuneration for little services 
is entirely out of order. 

"You have honored and greatly rejoiced me in committing 
the instruction of your loved child to my care, and making 
choice of me to undertake for her your own sacred work of 
confirming her. I really do not know which of us two is the 
other's greater debtor. I, for my part, cannot but feel that 
I am bound to be grateful. At all events we are fully even, 
and any external expression of gratitude tendered to me is 
wholly out of the question. You will, therefore, kindly par- 
don your brother his return of the enclosure. 

" But the love and friendship of yourself and your dear 



I96 FAITH. VICTORIOUS. 

family I feel rejoiced and proud to accept, and beg that you 
keep in your heart a place in remembrance of me, etc., etc. 

" Konigsberg, i jth April, 1847." 

The same clergyman had previously confirmed Miss 
Salome von Saucken, an early friend of Miss Ebel, who 
has lived at Hoheneck since 1870. She is the grand- 
daughter of Colonel de la Chevallerie, whose work on 
Schonherr is mentioned in the literature given in Ap- 
pendix C. 

The annual harvest-home at Grunenfeld was also a most 
delightful affair. It took place at the end of the ingather- 
ing of the fruits of the field ; all the laborers, the reapers 
of both sexes, in picturesque attire, led by the first reaper, 
appeared in procession before the manor-house, the latter 
carrying a wreath of ears gaily ornamented with flowers 
and ribbons, which he presented to Hahnenfeld accord- 
ing to ancient usage, repeating the customary ditty, con- 
cluding with a rousing Lebe hoch (Long and happy life 
to the lord of the manor and his family) vigorously 
echoed by all the rest, to which Hahnenfeld responded, 
saying : " Prosperity to all the trusty Grunenfelders," 
etc. Then followed a sumptuous repast, which termi- 
nated in a general dance, to the more especial delight of 
the young folk. There was an amusing incident in the 
harvest-home of 1843. The dance was cheerily progress- 
ing on a meadow by a lake when night set in ; the genial 
Hahnenfeld ordered an illumination by causing several 
tar barrels to be set on fire by the lake, with the result 
that the bright flames shot up high into the air, and 
their flickering splendor bathed the meadow and dancers 
in a picturesque flood of light. Not long after, when gay 
rejoicing was at it height, a thundering noise was heard 



REST. 197 

♦ 
approaching over the village street, and there appeared a 
fire engine with a full complement of firemen from the 
neighboring village of Vogelsang ; for the kindly Vogel- 
sangers, having noticed the bright reflection of the 
flames, and unable to account for it, thought that Grunen- 
feld was on fire, and came in hot haste to aid in putting 
it out. They were, of course, delighted to find that 
their help was fortunately not required, and as there was 
no need of their services in that respect they made 
themselves useful in another, to the intense gratification 
of the village maidens, who found that the corps of 
dancers had been strongly recruited by the good fire- 
men. 

In addition to what has been said of Hahnenfeld*, a 
few words relating to his character, life, and family may 
not be deemed superfluous. He was a most excellent 
man, very benevolent, highly accomplished, a universal 
favorite with all that knew him, and felt the happy in- 
fluence of his simple, earnest, consistent Christian life. 
He wrote two works of considerable merit bearing on 
Ebel's persecution, the first entitled, " Ein Moment aus 
den i Mittheilungen ' des Consistorialrath Kahler ilber das 
1 Leben und die Schriften ' seines Vaters, beleuchtet von E. 
von Hahnenfeld," Braunsberg, 1856 ; the second, "Die 
religiose Bewegung zu Konigsberg" etc., ib., 1858. He 
was called home March 20, 1868, and his excellent con- 
sort followed him in 1873. The blessing of those good 
parents rests upon their children. Friedrich, the present 
lord of the manor, and his amiable, kindly wife, imitate 
in every respect the noble example of their sainted pre- 
decessors ; and three children, as well as the presence of 

* See p. 138. 



190 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

their good aunts, the daughters of our Hahnenfeld, con- 
tribute their share in preserving the happiness of the 
dear home where Ebel lived until 1848. May the bless- 
ing of God Almighty long continue among them. " The 
memory of the just is blessed." 

In the spring of 1 848 it was thought necessary that 
Ebel, whose health had become affected by incessant 
toil, exposure, and grief, should visit Marienbad, in Bo- 
hemia, the virtue of whose waters had been very bene- 
ficial to him before. Count Kanitz had two years before 
(1846), for similar reasons, retired from office* and gone 
to Italy in quest of health. It was agreed that the Count- 
ess and he should meet the Ebels at Marienbad, and 
there they formed the plan of living together at Meran, 
n the Tyrol, which had been specially recommended to 
them. 

And that plan was carried out ; the friends who spent 
two delightful years together at Meran were Ebel and 
his family, Count and Countess Kanitz, and Countess 
Ida. There, in the presence of that beautiful, majestic 
nature, where Meran nestles in the bosom of the most 
beautiful valley of the Tyrol, the " Motherland " and 
the " Paradise of the Tyrol," as the Tyrolese call it, on 
the banks of the Passer, in an ancient Carthusian monas- 
tery, romantically situated with an outlook upon the ever- 
lasting mountains, the beautiful highlands, and the en- 
chanting vale, the northern wanderers sat down to rest. 
The poetic mind of the Countess Ida expatiated on the 
ever changing but ever charming glories of that sunny 
spot, as the reader may see by reference to the poem, 
Die Wendung, given in Appendix C. As her eye ranged 

* See p. 159. 



REST. 199 

over the lofty mountain chain and beheld on their rocky- 
altar the smoking clouds, it was to her symbolic of the 
kinship of earth and heaven ; as it traversed downwards 
over the emerald velvet of the hanging gardens into the 
umbrageous windings of the fertile valley, where the 
peach and the almond pair, the one stretching its rosy 
arms to heaven, and the other adorning it with lily blos- 
soms, it feasted on the wilderness of vineyards, with 
their glossy leaves and purple clusters (the delight of the 
Meranese and many a feeble one coming from afar to 
that fascinating spot for the grape-cure), the silver groves 
of the olive, the beautiful fig-tree, which thrice a year 
bears fruit to the occupant of the rocks, on whose tops, 
under the eternal white, stand kindly, modest churches, 
and rosy dawn softly reflected in the limpid ice under an 
ever mellow sun perpetually unites the beautiful and the 
sublime. The simplicity, frankness, and piety of the 
Tyrolese are proverbial, and the beautiful Alpine rose 
was to Countess Ida the emblem of a handsome race, 
transmitting from the hoary past the familiar address by 
the baptismal name alone.* Then there were excursions 
without number along the Passer and the Etsch, and the 
mountains, the Jaufen the Mendelspitz, the Marlinger, 
the Rosenstein. Ah ! that Carthusian cell was unspeak- 
ably dear to them all, so sweet a resting-place, but also a 
working-place, for there the Countess not only wrote 
poems, she likewise wrote there Die Liebe zur Wahrheit, 
and Ebel began at Meran the Philosophie der heiligen 
Urkicnde; there was music and sketching, and endless 
delight — it was to all of them an earthly paradise of 
blissful repose. 

The residence at Meran proved physically very bene- 
ficial to Ebel and Kanitz, and when they felt stronger 



200 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

they naturally thought of a permanent settlement else- 
where, and recrossed the mountains. 

In 1850 they bade adieu to Meran and went to Hohen- 
eck, in the friendly Neckar Valley, where Countess Ida 
had decided permanently to locate, and bought a coun- 
try-seat, of course, not for herself only, but likewise for 
the Ebel family, of which she regarded herself a member. 
Kanitz lived first for some time at Stetten, in Hohen- 
zollern, and in 1854 he too settled down at Lud wigs- 
burg, near by, with summer visits to Hoheneck. 

About a year later came the sorrowful tidings that 
Theodor, Ebel's youngest son, who, upon the comple- 
tion of his university course, had passed an excellent 
examination as doctor of philosophy and principal 
teacher, and received an appointment, succumbed to a 
complication of hepatic and pulmonary troubles. It was 
a sad blow, but as he had been a great sufferer, his re- 
lease from pain was the sweet in the bitter cup ; he fell 
asleep in Jesus, and that was a precious consolation ; 
they sorrowed indeed, but they sorrowed like Christians, 
and Ebel turned to the beautiful and triumphant pas- 
sages 1 Cor. xv. 12-58, and 1 Thess. iv. 13-18 for com- 
fort, saying he was content and resigned, and grateful 
for his deliverance, and rejoiced for the sufferer's sake. 

"Er ist engangen 

Alter Noth und Pein, die uns noch halt gefangen" 

Mrs. Ebel, ever cheerful and courageous, felt his de- 
parture as only a mother can feel, and her tender heart 
sought refuge in tears which she could not restrain, and 
gave vent to her grief. 

Hoheneck is a small village ; the people are poor, for 









/ yi/ i#!mi*|w \!*wff***f 




Fac-simile of an inscription in the hand-writing of Ebel on the fly-leaf of a Gesang- 
buck bought on his arrival at Hoheneck. 

The two Greek letters at the top are the alpha and otnega, and illustrate how Ebel 
did and held everything in Jesus. 

The stanza itself characterizes his love of Jesus, and the feelings with which he 
greeted the congenial companionship of the strongly biblical Wurttembergers. 



REST. 201 

the most part laborers in the vineyards which clothe the 
hillsides ; some also mechanics ; but they are a true, 
warm-hearted, simple folk, devout and, like many Wiirt- 
tembergers, earnest Christians. The arrival of Ebel and 
Countess Ida was a great blessing to them everyways. 
Ebel's active and creative mind found in that haven of 
rest ample leisure for the production of several very im- 
portant works. In 1852 he published Grundziige der Er- 
kenntniss der Wahrheit ; in 1854-1855-1856, Die Philo- 
sophic der heiligen Urkunde, and some minor essays. 
Countess Ida wrote, and published in 1856, Wissen- 
schaft und Bibel. 

What with these literary pursuits, the delightful com- 
panionship of congenial friends, the resources of refined 
culture, the reading of good books, the diversions of 
music and painting, the family life at Hoheneck was 
singularly happy. A member of the family speaks of it 
in her letters to me as " heaven upon earth." The terrible 
religious suit was rarely so much as mentioned ; it be- 
longed to the past, and Ebel deemed it one of the bless- 
ings for which he felt peculiarly grateful, that he never 
dreamt of it. God had given him a cheerful, happy dis- 
position, he abounded in humor and was a delightful 
conversationalist ; and when he and Kanitz, the Countess 
Ida and Mrs. Ebel began to talk of the past they had 
themes vastly more pleasant to discuss than the miseries 
of the religious suit. There were old and fond remi- 
niscences and associations which they had in common. 
There was one, e. g. } that took them back to the sunny 
past when Ebel was still at Hermsdorf, and Kanitz a gay 
cavalier and Countess Ida unmarried, and the news came 
to Konigsberg that their young friend Ebel had been so 
great a sufferer in the loss of his belongings by the war. 



202 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

The genial poet Max von Schenkendorf, a fast friend of 
Ebel, took it into his head to do something for him. The 
Auerswalds, it will be remembered, were very hospitable 
and their house the centre of whatever was refined and 
noble. At that time (i 806-1 809) the royal family lived 
with them in the castle. Among other agrements they 
had set up a private theatre, and members of the Auers- 
wald family and their young friends cultivated private 
theatricals. Schenkendorf sometimes composed the pieces 
and assigned the parts. Well, he interested Kanitz, the 
Countess Ida, and her fiance Count von der Groben, and 
others, to get up a representation with an admission, the 
proceeds to benefit a young clergyman (Ebel) who had 
been injured by the war. This was duly announced, 
and the royal family as well as many other distinguished 
people appeared in goodly numbers, and everything went 
off to the entire satisfaction of all concerned, and the 
proceeds were sent to Hermsdorf. Kanitz appeared 
that night in the character of a parson. That was a 
grand joke and occasioned much merriment. Yes, Mrs. 
Ebel would say, when she came as bride to Konigsberg, 
Kanitz was a recognized leader, a veritable maitre de 
filaisir, the man " who made thunder and lightning," and 
that would, of course, be irresistible, to think of that 
grave and learned judge, a sexagenarian, in that way. 
And Countess Ida would join in and tell how fond her 
hero was of Ebel, which would be confirmed by Mrs. 
Ebel who remembered how he, naturally somewhat re- 
served, was so delighted to see him on one occasion that 
he shook him by the head. 

In connection with the period to which this charming 
reminiscence belongs, it affords me pleasure to introduce 
a passage from the autobiography of Count Charles of 



REST. 203 

Miinchow,* sent by a friend, which incidentally illustrates 
the social life at Konigsberg and introduces quite a 
number of persons with whom we have already made 
acquaintance. 

" Through the instrumentality of my friend Count Wilhelm 
von der Groben, who was engaged to Miss Ida, the second 
daughter ot the governor, I was introduced to the Auerswald 
family, an introduction to which I am greatly indebted for 
my social culture. The tone in that noble family was a hap- 
pv mixture of the loftiest refinement, and informal, aesthetic 
mirth. Occasionally I met there scholars, artists and distin- 
guished strangers ; among the younger visitors of the house 
were amateurs of the fine arts, some of them my particular 
friends, e. g. , Max von Schenkendorf the poet, the Counts 
Ernst and Karl Kanitz who painted, and Count Wilhelm von 
der Groben, who had an excellent tenor voice. Miss Ida, a 
most amiable young lady, combined great talents with an 
unusual intellect, She wrote poems, and hers was altogether 
an eminently tender, poetical feminine temperament. . . . 
A singularly amiable young man was the nephew of Mrs. 
von Auerswald, Charles Count of Dohna-Schlodien. I made 
also at that time the acquaintance of his tutor Dr. Ebel, the 
archdeacon and preacher of the Old-Town Church, the most 
valuable acquaintance I ever made, and which affected the 
whole of my subsequent life." 

There is a mysterious chain by which friends separated 
by great distance, without preconcerted arrangement, at 
momentous periods of their existence are brought into 
rapport, a term here used to designate uncommon near- 
ness in thought and feeling. That such a rapport 
exists will probably be admitted on all hands, however 
much authorities may differ as to its explanation. A 

* See p. 141. 



204 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

curious instance seems to be the following. The name 
of Frau Consentius has been mentioned in these pages.* 
That excellent lady died at Konigsberg about sunset, 
September 7, 1854. In the same hour, Ebel and his 
family were on their way from Marienbad (where they 
had spent some time for his especial benefit) to Hohen- 
eck, near the neighborhood of Lichtenfels in Bavaria. 
They noticed from their carriage a singularly beautiful 
illumination ; the air was clear and the heavens were re- 
splendent in azui^ crimson and golden tints, suggestive 
to them of the heavenly Jerusalem, so Ebel led and the 
others joined in singing the beautiful stanza : 

" Wie herrlich ist die neue Welt 
Die Gott den Frommen vorbehalt, 
Kein Mensch kann sie erwerben. 
O Jesu ! Herr der HerrlichJzeit ! 
Du hast die Statf auch mir bereit\ 
Hi If sie mir auch ererben ! 
Einen kleinen Blick in jene Freudenscene 
Gonn' mir Schwachen — 
Mir den Abschied leicht zu inachen /" 

In that particular hour, perhaps while the last three 
lines were being sung, the spirit of that ripe Christian 
burst its earthly prison-house and soared on high. Her 
then only surviving daughter soon after her bereavement 
took up her permanent home at Hoheneck (1855), in order 
to be near her dearest friends till death did them part 
(she died in 1865). 

Perhaps the most touching and most beautiful of the 
many red-letter days in the calendar of that happy 
Hoheneck life was November 23, 1856, the jubilee of 

* See p. 143. 



REST. 205 

Ebel's ordination. It was a day of solemn rejoicing and 
profound gratitude to Lord God Almighty, and the 
measure of Ebel's bliss was full to overflowing, when 
faithful members of his Old-Town congregation caused 
to be presented to him a fine silver goblet, lined with 
gold, exhibiting among other inscriptions these two : " In 
memory of fifty years consecrated to the service of the 
Most High, Novr. 23, 1806 to Novr. 23, 1856 ; " and 
" Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall 
not pass away." (Matth. xxiv. 25). They were well 
chosen and carried a profound meaning. The Scripture 
citation gives the text of the sermon preached at his 
ordination,* and emphasizes the fact that the kind donors 
intended it to characterize his blessed ministry, while 
the first inscription was a silent protest against the unjust 
sentence, and an eloquent avowal that in spite of it, he 
was their loved pastor still, and that they delighted to 
take part in that touching jubilee. 

Another annual red-letter day was the fourth of March, 
Ebel's birthday, which was always celebrated with pecul- 
iar rejoicing, when each and all w r ould try their utmost 
to gladden him with the very best and most beautiful 
tokens their love could devise. By a singular coincidence 
it became likewise the day of Countess Ida's departure. 
The association must be my apology for a chronological 
anticipation. That departure did not take place until 
1868, and the interval between that year and 1856, our 
last date, besides the appearance of the remarkable work 
Wissenschaft imd Bibel,\ which she wrote in her sixty- 
fifth year, was filled with acts of self-denial and benevo- 
lence. As in mind, in faith, in love she retained the 

* See p. 39 f See Appendix C. 



206 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

ardor and freshness of youth to the last, so she was 
physically free from sickness, and only fatigued. Miss 
Ebel, to whom Ida was a second mother and an elder 
sister, and who loved and loves her beyond expression, 
gives this touching account of her death : 

" In the afternoon of that day she called me, with a joyous 
ring in her voice, from the adjoining room, and when 
I answered the summons she laid herself in my arms, sweetly 
closed her eyes and gently breathed her last. Our physi- 
cian, astounded at what had occurred, said: ' The countess 
has not tasted the bitterness of death,' and pointing to her 
sleeping countenance, added: ' The picture of peace.' Thus 
the fourth day of March is to us 

"Father's birthday into the life of earth, 
Ida's birthday into the life of heaven. 

11 My mother, like myself the recipient of such untold love 
from the departed, opened, as was her wont, the Bible at 
random, and it was like light from above as her eyes fell on : 
' But the souls of the righteous are in the hand of God, and 
there shall no torment touch them. In the sight of the 
unwise they seem to die, and their departure is taken for 
misery, and their going from us to be utter destruction : but 
they are in peace. For though they be punished in the sight 
of men, yet is their hope full of immortality. And having 
been a little chastised, they shall be greatly rewarded : for 
God proved them, and found them worthy for himself. As 
gold in the furnace hath he tried them, and received them as 
a burnt offering. And in the time of their visitation they 
shall shine, and run to and fro like sparks among the 
stubble. They shall judge the nations, and have dominion 
over the people, and their Lord shall reign forever. They 
that put their trust in him shall understand the truth : and 
such as be faithful in love shall abide with him, for grace and 
mercy is to his saints, and he hath care for his elect." — 
(Wisd. iii. 1-9.) 



REST. 207 

A more appropriate passage, telling in almost every 
word, could not be found in any other part of the 
Bible ; it reads as if it had been expressly composed for 
her, and the manner of its finding, also, was an ineffably 
sweet consolation to her sorrowing friends. 

A great trouble and grief to Ebel and his friends was 
the persistent repetition and distortion of the calumnies 
so assiduously circulated at the time of the persecution, 
by the press and in works of reference. How by the 
"Aufklarung" and the indomitable energy of Kanitz, 
all this has been changed is known to the reader. It is 
very pleasant to think, however, that before the " Auf- 
klarung " had been published, and during the lifetime 
of Ebel, there appeared in 186 1, in Wagner's Staats— und 
Gescllschafts — Lexicon the first of a long line of articles in 
vindication of his memory, from which instar omnium a 
passage is here given for two reasons : First, because it 
is the only one that Ebel saw, and proved a veritable 
balm to his wounded spirit ; secondly, because its very 
existence was unknown to the writer until within the last 
few weeks, when it was kindly forwarded to him, and 
it confirms the views of the whole matter advocated in 
these pages. The article in question begins thus : 
" Ebel, Johann Wilhelm. This doctor of philosophy, 
and preacher at Konigsberg, in Prussia, with George 
Heinrich Diestel, his brother minister and brother in 
tribulation (whom on that account we include in this 
article), in spite of the entire and thorough confutation 
of the charges preferred against them, and in utter dis- 
regard of the results of the great state-suit acquitting 
them (1842) of the charge of founding a sect, is men- 
tioned in modern church history in a manner that 
renders it absolutely necessary to remind historians of 



208 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

the first duties of historical justice." After enumerat- 
ing the works whose pages are disfigured and disgraced 
by such false and frivolous statements, the author con- 
tinues : "To say nothing of pamphlets, the current 
popular press, and liberal * compilations (e.g., Das Con- 
versations Lexicon der letzten zehn Jahre, von Reich en- 
bach, Leipzig, 1844), there runs through the most widely 
circulated manuals and text-books of history, an accu- 
sation which, in spite of the acquitting judgment of the 
Berlin Kammergericht, their learned authors have for- 
borne to examine and investigate. Even before the 
termination of the suit the published apologies of Ebel 
and Diestel (given below) contained data sufficient to 
test the lithographed communications, as well as those 
of von Wegnern, but they were not looked at any more 
than the work of Mrs. von Bardeleben (also mentioned 

below) But scholars cannot afford any 

longer to ignore the thorough work of E. von Hahnen- 
feld (Die religiose Bewegung, etc.), unless they wish to 
issue the certificate of their moral death in the field of 
historical inquiry. A former pamphlet by the same 
author : (Ein Moment aus den Mittheilungen des Consis- 
torialraths Kdhler, etc.), might bring home to the con- 
sciousness of the men of the lecture-room the superiority 
of a pure conscience and a well-founded conviction to 
the superficiality of the learned in their evasions, as- 
saults and admissions. The time will yet come for the 
due appreciation of the work of Frau von Bardeleben. 
In the crisis which soon must overtake liberalism, the 
liberalism of Konigsberg and its mythical personification 
in Schon (who played so important a part in the suit 

* Liberal, i. e., skeptical. 



REST. 209 

against Ebel and Diestel) will doubtless be justly dealt 
with." A copy of Wagner's article was thoughtfully 
sent to Ebel, who exclaimed after its perusal con- 
cerning the author : " Charity — rejoiceth not in iniquity, 
but rejoiceth in the truth." (1 Cor. xiii., 6), and got 
some one to read out in the family the hymn : 

" Mem Dankopfer, Herr, ich bringe, 
So mir recht von Herzen geht, 
Ueber deine Wunderdinge 
Wird mem Geist zu dir erhbht, 
Gott, ich freue mich, ntein Leben 
1st ganz deinem Lob ergebe7i^ etc.* 

It had come in time, three weeks later it would have 
come too late, for a long-expected message, a message 
joyously though not impatiently expected, arrived before 
it began to dawn at Hoheneck in the early hours of 
August 1 8th, 1 86 1, and the spirit of Ebel saw the sun 
which never rises and never sets in the many-mansioned 
house. The event was one which he knew in those 
days of chronic infirmity, occasionally stayed by the use 
of the Kreuzbrunnen at Marienbad, must soon set in. 
The excessive heat of that summer hastened it. He 
looked forward with unspeakable delight to the time 
when he should "get home." He would speak about it 
with the family, and in his love and tenderness comfort 
them by instancing the example of St. Paul, who had 
looked forward with such unmingled delight to the time 

* I have to apologize for not translating the hymns and poetry 
introduced. Literal translation frequently murders, and almost 
always vitiates the thought. Free translation is not much better, 
for it often becomes either paraphrase, or misinterpretation. A 
poet only can do justice to the matter. 



210 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

when he should meet Jesus. Why should they grudge 
him the same delight ? His dear friend Kanitz was very 
ill at the time and needed the utmost care ; he was 
afraid that the news of his own departure might shock 
him, and so he said to his family : " Tell Kanitz gradu- 
ally." He had long since forgiven his persecutors, and 
learned to pity them, and in the spirit of the first martyr 
to pray for them. The last day he spent on earth he 
said with great emphasis : " Tell all my enemies — no, I 
will not call them enemies — tell them all that I forgive 
them — oh ! how do I forgive them." Towards evening 
he exclaimed : " Jesus is my life ; " somewhat later : 
" O Jesus, Jesus receive my spirit." He fell into a 
slumber, and slept, gently breathing, for several hours ; 
the breath grew fainter, and in the early morning watch 
the spirit had left the tenement of clay. They said of 
him in life and they said of him in death, that his noble 
face resembled Christ, others that it was the counte- 
nance of an angel. Those expressions, of course, are 
speculative and imaginary, but he was, what kindly folk 
wished to convey by them, a true follower of the Lord 
Jesus Christ, and all his life long an angel of peace and 
love. What he was to his Old-Town church, to all his 
dear friends, and to his family, has been abundantly 
described in the preceding pages ; but it remains to be 
told how dearly the good Wiirttembergers loved him ; 
the good minister at Hoheneck, Pastor Romer, deemed 
it one of the greatest blessings of his life to enjoy the 
friendship of Ebel and Countess Ida. A plain working- 
man was so overcome with sorrow that he gave vent to 
it in the words : " When I heard that the doctor had 
died, I felt like standing on my head — the house is 
empty, the dearest has gone." Nor was this feeling 



REST. 211 

evanescent ; those plain, true, simple folk feel strongly, 
deeply and lastingly ; quite recently, twenty years after 
Ebel's departure, a good Hohenecker told his daughter 
with great enthusiasm — for the man is advanced in years 
and labor is no longer easy to him : " Miss, if your father 
could be brought back from heaven, / should carry him 
here!" 

It was a matter of great anxiety to the family to have 
the remains of the departed as near to them as possible, 
There was, indeed, the Hoheneck " God's-acre," as the 
Germans beautifully call a cemetery or burying-place, 
but it lies near the Neckar, and is damp, and on that ac- 
count it was not favored. But the garden, on high 
ground, suggested itself for the purpose, and gave rise to 
the desire, with the permission of the proper authorities, 
of having a family vault made, and to erect a chapel 
over it. That permission was sought, and very early in 
the morning of August 21, 1861, an express messenger 
brought the good tidings that the application had been 
granted, to wit : that the family was allowed to build a 
vault, etc., and to deposit the precious remains tempo- 
rarily in the summer-house of the park, a structure of 
solid masonry that had stood there for many years. A 
few hours later the bells of the Hoheneck church began 
to toll, and twelve men, who had volunteered to act as 
carriers, lifted the coffin, rendered invisible under a hil- 
lock of floral offerings, and bore it, accompanied by the 
family and a large number of friends from near and far, 
along the winding path, on which flowers had been 
spread, to its temporary resting-place. The burgess of 
the village and Pastor Romer led the procession, and the 
latter officiated. 

Then the work was taken in hand and the vault com- 



212 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

pleted during the mild winter of 1861-62 ; a Gothic 
hexagonal chapel of gray sandstone was built over it ; 
over the portal appears the figure of an angel bearing in 
his hands a scroll with the inscription, in gilt letters, " I 
live, ye shall live also " (Ic/z lebe, imd ihr sollt auch lebeii) 
— John xiv. 19. No accident marred the successful com- 
pletion of the work ; no disagreement or contention 
among the laborers employed in it, and the architect 
gratefully confessed that the genius of peace had rested 
on the whole work from first to last. When summer re- 
turned and the sun shone bright, the bell of the Hohen- 
eck Church was tolled again, and another procession 
carried the departed from the summer-house to the 
height of the garden, where, in the midst of trees, stands 
the memorial chapel. Pastor Romer duly consecrated 
the spot, and committed to the bosom of the earth the 
mortal remains of Johann Wilhelm Ebel. An appropriate 
oration on the Resurrection was pronounced by him, of 
which this was the concluding sentence : " And may our 
blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be thy light and 
thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward ;" and because 
of the victorious faith of Ebel he called the chapel " The 
Chapel of the Resurrection," but it is generally known as 
"the Gothic Hall " or the "Mausoleum." There, in 
that beautiful, lofty, sunny spot are enshrined his mortal 
remains ; his immortal remains live in his works and the 
memory of his blessed ministry. A touching instance of 
the value attached to those works is that which follows : 
Some time after Ebel's departure Pastor Romer made 
this announcement to his congregation : The day before, 
he said, while preparing to discourse on Luke xiv. 16-24, 
he had taken up Ebel's sermon on " The Essentials of 
the Christian Life " ( Was es gilt i??i Christenthum), and 



REST. 213 

found it so superior to anything he could say on the sub- 
ject that he concluded it would be more edifying to read 
it than to preach one himself, adding : " You and I 
then, must imagine to sit at the feet of this man, who is 
now in the presence of God," and then proceeded to read 
the entire sermon. 

In the summer of 1863 Mrs. Ebel's brother, Mr. Bern- 
hardt Leinweber, the honest, warm-hearted farmer, the 
same who brought them a wain full of farm produce on 
the eve of their departure from Konigsberg, paid them a 
visit at Hoheneck. Being a stranger in the place, he 
asked one of the village people, would he please direct 
him to the house of the Ebel family ; he said he came 
from Prussia and wished to visit them. The word 
" Prussia " and the Prussian speech did not please the 
good Suabian, who suspected the honest farmer of some 
sinister purpose, and instead of complying with his re- 
quest made answer : " From Prussia ! Why did you 
Prussians persecute Dr. Ebel, that man of God, as you 
have done ? " Bernhardt assured the Hohenecker that 
he was quite innocent of the matter, that he was Mrs. 
Ebel's brother, and that he had come solely for the pur- 
pose to thank the family and Count Kanitz for all the 
good they had done him. Then the Hoheneck man be- 
lieved Bernhardt and showed him the house. Countess 
Ida met him, and extending her hand to him, which he 
kissed, after the simple and touching fashion of his 
country, said to him : " Dear Mr. Leinweber, we are 
glad that you have come to see us," and he said that 
such a welcome was " a cordial " after the critical recep- 
tion of the Hoheneck villager. 

And as betokening the value of his example of trium- 
phant faith may be mentioned this incident : In 1869 a 



214 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

gentleman, a lawyer, who never knew Ebel while alive, 
visited the family at Hoheneck, and was so strongly im- 
pressed with what he heard of him that he wrote to the 
family afterwards : 

" Before I went to Hoheneck I had read his sermons, but I 
did not understand then, as I do now, the effect they must have 
produced on his hearers. He preached Christ risen from 
the dead, but that is nothing peculiar ; have not many hun- 
dred thousand preachers before him, or his contemporaries, 
or others after him, preached the same doctrine ? But the 
people believed Ebel ; they received as true his message con- 
cerning Jesus and the resurrection ; he had the gift of kin- 
dling the divine spark in the hearts of his hearers. This is 
the conviction which has grown on me during my visit to 
Hoheneck ; I judge of the tree by its fruits. The people be- 
lieved what he preached, and they believed that he believed 
it j that is the great difference between him and so many 
other preachers. ' That was a beautiful sermon, if it only 
were true what he has preached about Jesus and our resur- 
rection ! ' Hopeful doubts ! That is the most favorable com- 
ment I remember in connection with the most beautiful ser- 
mons I ever heard preached at Easter and the Ascension 
Day. Assurance of faith, absolute and immovable, is a plant 
of rare growth ; and my belief is that the belief of the resur- 
rection of Christ is a living belief in the colony at Hoheneck, 
and that it has been wrought by Ebel, and that is the most 
important thing I carried away with me from Hoheneck." * 

In the month of March, 1868, the vault was opened to 
receive the mortal remains of the sweet Countess Ida. 
During the oration there appeared in the heavens a 
beautiful rainbow, a touching reminiscence of the lofty 

* The daughter of this gentleman, Miss Mina Steinwender, lives 
with Miss Ebel at Villa Ida. 



REST. 215 

Christian sentiment in one of her poems (25 " Erfiillung," 
in Morgenwache, p. 52) which allegorizes the rainbow as 
the precursor of the covenant of peace, the visible wit- 
ness of the grace of God inclining to earth, betokening 
in the splendor of each of the color-members the splen- 
dor of the inward peace of every member of the kingdom 
of peace, and in their harmonious blending that that 
peace is the result of the united weapons of truth. 

In December, 1869, the same vault received a third 
occupant. This time it was the truly good and patient 
widowed Augusta Ebel, whose body they lowered to rest 
by the side of her husband's. She too had known during 
a brief illness that it meant going home, although her 
heart was full to overflowing with the tenderest love for her 
surviving children and all that loved Jesus, yet her truly 
Christian rejoicing in the expected, long yearned-for ad- 
mission to the dear home above was strongest in her. 
She prayed much with her children, and her mind being 
stored with the rich hymnology of the Lutheran Church, 
she loved not only to repeat but to join in the singing of 
these tender and pathetic hymns. " In the name of God 
I go ! " she joyfully exclaimed, and it is truly touching 
and edifying to put on record the fact that while the 
children were singing — 

"Fichre mich endlich, Jesu, in's ewige Leben, 
Welches dn Allen, die glauben, versproche'n zu geben, 
Da ich bei Go 11, 
Ohne Noth, Jammer und Tod, 
Ewig in Freuden iverd' schweben," 

her soul soared aloft on angels' wings, and when the 
music ceased she had ceased to breathe. The spectacle 
of her triumphant faith softened the deep grief of that 



2l6 FAITH VICTORIOUS. 

separation, and was the balm of heaven to the stricken 
ones. 

The letter which brought me these sorrowful tidings 
conveyed likewise the equally sorrowful intelligence of 
the demise, only a few days before, of the noble and 
faithful Kanitz. His great work, the Aufkldrung, was 
beginning to bear abundant fruit. It had renewed his 
strength and rejuvenated him, and from far and near 
came constamt tokens that the blessing of heaven rested 
upon that work and labor of love. He had succeeded 
in establishing the innocence and vindicating the memory 
of his sainted friend ; he had proved to the world that 
he had been persecuted for righteousness' sake, and, 
under God, that excellent man had brought forth his 
righteousness as the light and his judgment as the noon- 
day (Ps. xxxvii. 6). That was the happiness of his de- 
clining days, still further heightened by his constant 
thoughtfulness for others, by countless benefactions, and 
by ever dwelling on some new device to gladden his 
friends. Like Ebel's widow, he lived to fourscore years, 
and when a brief illness laid him low, in full, clear con- 
sciousness of the impending change, and in joyous ex- 
pectation of the rest in the heavenly home, he told his 
friends "to greet them all," and committing his soul to 
God he fell asleep, and his mortal remains lie by the side 
of Countess Charlotte in God's-acre at Ludwigsburg. 

The kind friend who wrote me all this in a beautiful 
letter touchingly informed me that I was infallibly 
included in the number of the all to whom Kanitz 
sent his valedictory greetings ; she, too, the exemplary, 
devoted, faithful, sainted Matilda von Derschau, belongs 
(since 1878) to the increasing number of my friends in 
the home above ; and her remains have found their last 



REST. 217 

resting-place in the same God's-acre at Ludwigsburg 

alongside the dear ones to whom for so many years she 

had so tenderly and lovingly ministered. 

* * % # ^ # 

The composition of this volume has been a blessing to 
my own soul and a delight ; may it prove a blessing and 
a joy to all that read it. Of Ebel and Kanitz, the 
Countess Ida, and all the dear ones whom I have en- 
deavored, however imperfectly, lovingly to commemorate, 
I would say, in conclusion, to their surviving friends by 
way of grateful remembrance, " The memory of the just 
is blessed " (Prov. x. 7), and to all, in view of what they 
were, and did, and suffered, and the beautiful and edify- 
ing example they set us, our precursors, I trust and pray, 
to that dear home which they have found, " I heard 
a voice from heaven saying unto me, write, Blessed are 
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, 
saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and 
their works do follow them " (Rev. xiv. 13). 
10 



SERMONS. 



THE GREAT CHANGE WROUGHT IN US BY THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
Ezekiel XXXVI. 26, 27. 



Whit sun -Day, May 26, 1822. 



" God be merciful unto us and bless us ; and cause his face 
to shine upon us, that thy way may be known upon earth, 
thy saving- health among all nations. Let the people praise 
thee, O God ; let all the people praise thee. Let the words 
of our mouth and the meditation of our heart be acceptable 
in thy sight, O Lord, our strength and our redeemer. Cre- 
ate in us a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within 
us. Cast us not away from thy presence, and take not thy 
Holy Spirit from us ; restore unto us the joy of thy salvation, 
and uphold us with thy free Spirit, for we will teach trans- 
gressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 
Halleluia ! Amen." 



The hand of the Lord came upon the prophet and carried 
him out in the Spirit of the Lord, and set him down in the 
midst of a valley which was full of bones, and caused him to 
pass by them round about ; and behold, there were very many 
in the open valley ; and lo, they were very dry. And he said 
unto him, Son of man, can these bones live ? And the 
prophet said, O Lord God, thou knowest. Again he said 
unto him, Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them : 

219 



220 APPENDIX A. 

O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the 
Lord unto these bones : Behold, I will cause breath to enter 
into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, 
and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, 
and put breath in you, and ye shall live ; and ye shall know 
that I am the Lord. So he prophesied as he was command- 
ed, and as he prophesied there was a noise, and behold, a 
shaking, and the bones came together, bone to his bone. 
And when he beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up 
upon them, and the skin covered them above; but there was 
no breath in them. Then said the Lord, Prophesy unto the 
wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith 
the Lord God : Come from the four winds, O breath, and 
breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So he prophe- 
sied as he had commanded him, and the breath came into 
them, and they lived, and stood upon their feet, an exceeding 
great army. 

When will these words be fulfilled in the people to whom 
they apply primarily ? For these bones are the house of 
Israel. Their hope seems lost, and, as far as we are able to 
tell, their case is past all remedy. And when will they be 
fulfilled in us, who are as dry as they ? Or are we not dried 
up ? Is there in our midst the life of the first Christians, 
faith, hope and charity ? The gospel indeed is preached 
among us, the gospel of the kingdom of God; its sound 
has .gone forth into all the world, and it has been proclaimed 
from this pulpit freely and constantly three hundred years. 
But have we borne fruit ? Have we walked in the Spirit — we 
that are destined to live in the Spirit— and are we really 
alive ? We all, I ask, who outwardly receive the memorable 
events of this day, when a sound from heaven as of a rushing, 
mighty wind filled the house, and the Spirit of God filled the 
hearts of the first followers of the Lord, as with one accord 
they were assembled together ? Have we risen from the dead, 
we who soon after our birth were solemnly dedicated to the 
Lord in Holy Baptism ? Is the divine breath within us ? Do 
we live in a higher element ? Are we conscious of being 



SERMONS. 221 

translated into the heavenly image ? Is Christ in us the 
hope of glory ? These very questions may be far from wel- 
come to all, for they are the voice of a watchman, bidding all 
to rise from dead works to serve the living God; and how loath 
are the idle to be wakened from sleep ? The dreamer, in his 
sweet illusion, fancies such a call inconvenient and trouble- 
some, though it be intended to draw him back from the edge 
of a precipice down which he is in imminent peril to fall. 
Hence the question whether we be alive, and not dried up, 
may not be welcome to those who are required to apply it to 
themselves and not to others. 

Nevertheless I am bidden : " Prophesy, son of man, and 
say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come, O wind, 
and breathe upon these slain, that they may be born out of 
God ! " I am always bidden to proclaim this, whenever I 
stand up in your midst as an appointed preacher of the 
Word of God ; but to-day — the aniversary of divine events, of 
the founding of the religion of the Spirit, of which we profess 
to be members — to-day, I say, I feel doubly the obligation of 
this solemn charge ; for the Lord will establish a covenant of 
peace with us. It is to be an everlasting covenant ; He will 
preserve and multiply us ; we are to be His peculiar* 
people ; He will be our God, and we shall be His people. 

"My son, give me thy heart," he kindly says to each and 
all ; " give me thy heart, and let thine eyes observe my ways !'' 
If on the one hand we are constrained to own that this en- 
treaty of the Lord of the world is infinitely honorable to man, 
and that on our compliance with it depends both our own 
welfare and that of those near and dear to us — our temporal 
welfare not less than our spiritual — and on the other, we cannot 
shut our eyes to the great difficulty of men to withdraw their 
heart from earth, and to receive the mind of Christ, the 
promises of these days that the Spirit of God shall be poured 
out upon all flesh, will be very beneficial to us, in order that 
our heart be torn from earth, and that faith, hope and charity 

* His property. 



222 APPENDIX A. 

be planted and rooted therein. They will be more beneficial 
as we realize the tumult and confusion of the times, the great 
and momentous events with which they are big, the all but 
universal effort to vindicate the rights of man, but the singular 
disregard of the necessity to restore the dignity of our nature ; 
how we strive after manhood and majority, in spite of our 
childishness and trifling, our want of discipline and self-con- 
secration ; how with our superficiality and selfishness we are 
entangled in a false civilization which we fondly call culture, 
threatening to engulf us and our children on every side, and 
show all the time a security and carelessness, as if we were in 
profoundest peace and out of danger. Reflecting on such a 
state of things, we give vent to our feelings in offering the 
prayer of Isaiah (lxiv. I, 2) : "Oh that thou wouldest rend 
the heavens, that thou wouldest come down, that the moun- 
tains might flow down at thy presence, as when the melting 
fire burnetii, the fire causeth the waters to boil, to make thy 
name known to thine adversaries, that the nations may 
tremble at thy presence, through the terrible things which 
thou doest and we look not for." 

Ezekiel xxxvi. 26, 27. 

" And a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I 
put within you : and I will take away the stony heart out of your 
flesh, and I will give you a heart of fiesh, and I will put my spirit 
within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep 
my judgments, and do them." 

How welcome must these words be to all that long for help 
out of Zion, and desire to be saved from this wicked world ; 
to be translated out of the dominion of darkness into the king- 
dom of the Son of God, to have part in the inheritance incor- 
ruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved for us in 
heaven. Yea, these words of prophecy are most welcome to 
us ; for they contain the Father's gracious promise that He 
will save us from all unrighteousness, and sanctify to Himself 
a peculiar people, zealous of good works. The storms of 
centuries have been unable to extinguish the splendor of this 



SERMONS. 223 

glorious promise, renewing again and again the blessed as- 
surance of our heavenly Father that the world should not 
perish, in that He has given us a new spirit and a new heart, 
turning the heart of stone into a heart of flesh, and changing 
us into a God-fearing people that keep His commandments 
and statutes to do them. " Look unto me and be ye saved, all 
the ends of the earth ; for I am God and none else." He still 
declares : " Unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall 
swear ; in the Lord is all righteousness and strength." 

Let us then consecrate this feast to the consideration of the 
great truth that we also shall be saved from all unrighteous- 
ness, and clad in our wedding garment of righteousness and 
salvation, attain the praise of the glory of His grace, which 
has been revealed to us. Now the great change which the 
Holy Spirit operates in us, referred to in the words of our 
text, is a theme worthy of the solemnity of this hour, and ap- 
propriate to the event we celebrate, and we will now inquire 

1. What it is ? 

2. How it is wrought ? 

And, O Lord God, cause us to realize to-day that thou 
desirest not that any of us should perish ; let thy Holy Spirit 
dwell in our midst in the plentitude of His power ; let us 
taste and see that thou art good, and know the exceeding 
greatness of thy power to us-ward who believe according to 
the working of the mighty power which thou hast wrought 
in Christ when thou didst raise Him from the dead and set 
Him at thy own right hand in the heavens. Create in us a 
clean heart, O God, and renew a constant spirit within us ; 
cast us not away from thy presence, and take not thy Holy 
Spirit from us. Restore unto us thy joy of thy salvation, and 
uphold us with thy free Spirit. Amen. 

I. 

What is the great change wrought in us by the Holy Spirit ? 
This is the question we have now to consider. It is very re- 
markable that Christianity insists not only on melioration, 
but wherever regeneration is referred to, not only on a partial 



224 APPENDIX A. 

change of our nature, but on a total change in the spirit of 
our mind. " Except a man be born again," our Lord said to 
Nicodemus, "he cannot see the kingdom of God." The mere 
avoidance of gross excesses of sin, the bare show of outward 
decency without inward change in the hidden depths of our 
being, is of no value before God, and will not avail us any- 
thing in the day when we shall receive the just recompense 
of reward for the works we have done in the body, be they 
good or bad. For after the description of the Word of God 
man is corrupt through and through, and the more he strives 
to avoid the gross excesses of sin, so much the more is he 
wont to foster a spirit of pride and self-complacency, which 
is an abomination before God. In the graphic language of 
the Bible, the whole head is so sick, and the whole heart so 
faint, that they must be recreated in order to restore us to 
the image of Him that has called us out of darkness into 
light. Therefore nothing short of a new creature is availing 
in Christ Jesus, a totally changed mind, an entirely re-created 
nature, infinitely more than we are able to do in our own 
strength, vastly more than the highest measure of human 
strength has ever been able to achieve. We should faint and 
despair of our deliverance and salvation, if our conversion 
and renovation had to be accomplished by our own strength, 
therefore, saith the Lord God, "I will give you a new heart 
and a new constant spirit, I will do it, saith Jehovah." Then, 
forsooth, the faint and timid heart takes courage, saying : 

Whom the Mighty One will aid, 
Whom the Highest will exalt — 
Nevermore can perish ! 

If He is willing, and we are willing, our case will succeed. 
But what is it that the Lord willeth ? and what is the great 
change he operates in us, so that we may know what we 
ought to will ? "A new heart will I give you, and a new 
spirit will I put within you,'' saith the Lord. His re-creation 
therefore is twofold, it relates both to the heart and to the 
spirit. 



SERMONS. 225 

This is an important distinction, for the state of the mind 
is one thing, and the bent of our doings another. Certain 
states of feeling are ascribed to the heart, the direction of our 
efforts belongs to the spirit; but both the heart and the spirit 
are liable to error, naturally very perverse, and manifoldly 
corrupted. 

We look first at the heart to know what God the Lord 
desires to effect therein. He will create in us a neia heart, 
for by nature we have a stony heart ; and this stony heart 
He will change into a heart of flesh, or according to the sense 
of the text, He will recreate it into a good and tender heart. 
The heart, the focus of our life, embraces all the sensations 
excited by outward impressions, or the events of the inward 
life. It is the heart which causes us to feel, after the natural- 
ness of our being, either defiant or timid as long as the Spirit 
of the Lord has not yet subdued and renewed it after the 
image of the first-begotten of the Father, our Lord Jesus 
Christ. The heart is stony, insensible of the benefits of God, 
unfit to receive them and to respond to His entreaties and 
monitions — stony for the reception of His tender mercies. 
Or can you deny having walked many years in the vanity of 
your heart, without considering that your life, and its many 
blessings, are the gift of God, and that His visitation has 
preserved your spirit ? Can you deny having many a year, 
many a time, in carnal self-reliance and in the pride of your 
imagined strength ascribed to your own ability or wisdom 
the unmerited mercies of God ? Will you deny, that even 
when you were better instructed, you have been idle and 
reluctant to praise the Lord for His unceasing love, daily re- 
peated with the rising of His sun ? Where are the tender 
feelings for the all-merciful God, your gratitude to the Giver 
of every good and perfect gift, and your cheerful obedience 
to the Father of lights ? It is this insensibility of the divine 
mercies which makes the heart stony, renders it impatient 
in affliction, and fills it with arrogant pride in prosperity. 

But it is also stony through being unable to receive the 
divine exhortations. It is God's gracious purpose to draw us 



226 APPENDIX A. 

to Himself by means of loving kindness and to conquer our 
hearts by love. Many a beam from the invisible government 
of His good Providence has he caused to descend on us to 
lighten the darkness of our hearts, many a word of His has He 
thrust into us with a force that filled us with fear and trem- 
bling, and many a providence so turned as to make us doubt 
the Tightness of our past course. But did we perceive and 
understand forthwith this voice of our heavenly Father ? Or 
did we avert our face from Him, and seek for diversion, when 
it was His purpose to admonish us through crosses and suf- 
ferings ? What more common than the well-meant counsel 
tendered to our suffering brethren to seek diversion? Just as if 
the salvation of God and peace of mind could be found in diver- 
sion ! See, how stony the heart is ; when God kindly touches 
it that it may exult for joy and love Him who first loved us, 
it grows haughty, careless and arrogant ; and when He 
smites it to make it observe the crooked and perverse way 
on which it is running to destruction, it runs away from His 
school and seeks for diversion, that the fatherly correction 
may not yield fruit. The heart of man is a stony heart ! 
These words are true and certain. 

And this heart is designed to grow good and tender, to 
become sensible of the benefits of God, to taste and see how 
good He is, to delight in Him, and to hear His voice, to note 
His hints and monitions, to observe and apply them, and to 
turn them to good account. A tender and a good heart we 
are to receive, one that receives the seed of the word, and is 
not like the stony ground in which the divine seed cannot 
take root, or the thorny field where the cares of this world 
and riches choke the good seed ; but a heart of flesh is one 
which, though we cannot leave the world, remains true to 
God, is constantly on the alert, quick to perceive the leadings 
and directions of the divine Spirit, and thankful to receive 
and apply to our benefit the monitions and warnings of our 
God, no matter when or whence they come. 

This is, however, only part of the great change wrought by 
the divine Spirit, for the text adds : "I will put a new spirit 



SERMONS. 227 

within you." The spirit, dear brethren, is the efficient power 
in us, which directs our efforts, guides our work for the good 
of others and of ourselves, our plans and hopes, and indicates 
how our diversified talents and abilities should be applied. 

More or less all men are endowed with spirit or mind ; 
there are many persons in our time, of great wealth of mind 
(geistreic/i), who under the progressive development of our 
age have really reached a very high degree of mental culture. 
But what does that avail, if the old mind or spirit remains 
unchanged ? for the old mind is dark, perverse and uncertain. 
It is dark and perverse, for it will not allow that the things 
which God has joined together should remain in their order 
and proper relations. For God has raised man above all his 
fellow-creatures in that He breathed into him a rational, free 
soul, and endowed that soul as well as the body with sundry 
powers and capacities tending to beautify and enhance the 
happiness of his life. But He has assigned to each of these 
capacities its own fixed order, and more especially established 
the supremacy of man in. that as a rational and free agent, he 
should ever examine himself by subordination to the judg- 
ment of the divine Spirit, to learn and prove what is that 
good, and acceptable and perfect will of God. But we know 
that the efforts of men do not generally tend in this direction. 
The use of the understanding is to them only an exercise of 
their capacities, or a means to glitter before the world, seeing 
that they esteem more highly the praise of man than the 
praise of God. They are ever learning and yet never attain- 
ing the knowledge of the truth. 

The great truths of our reconciliation with God through 
Jesus Christ our Lord, of the restoration of the divine image 
in us, of our future destiny, are seemingly to the great mass 
of our fellow-men, as far as their speech enables us to judge, 
as if they did not concern them at all. Has there not been a 
time when men did, and are there not many persons living 
at this time who do not hesitate frankly to declare that our 
relations to the things invisible are beyond the reach of 
scientific inquiry, outside the province of knowledge, and 



228 APPENDIX A. 

only objects of faith ? and under the pretext of such imaginary- 
faith men carelessly continued to live after their own desire, 
and ultimately reached the pass that they did not believe any- 
thing - whatever. In this way religion was drawn into the 
realm of the imaginary ; it was alleged that it was the object 
of feeling, and under the influence of this hallucination men 
fell into phantastic imaginings, conjured for themselves thou- 
sands of other worlds, forgetting to seek their happiness in 
this world and to do their duty. Their imagination literally 
ran riot when they excluded from the loftiest affairs the 
noblest, that is, the reasoning faculties of our being. And 
this phantastic aberration they called divine, because it 
originated in their own breast, and because even honest men 
are frequently tempted to follow their own mind, if they have 
not previously been renewed by the Spirit of God. For, if I 
may use the expression, there are three spirits that reign in 
us : the spirit of selfishness, which would fain uphold its 
prejudices and opinions, no matter how great their delusion ; 
the spirit of the prince of darkness, the evil spirit of the prince 
of this world, who " hath blinded the eyes of them which be- 
lieve not,"* addressing us through the evil example and the 
errors of others, and displaying them before our eyes so that 
they dazzle and poison us ; and lastly the good spirit, the 
Spirit of God, testifying His presence to every man. But see- 
ing that all those three spirits speak to us within, men fondly 
imagine that they are always hearing the voice of the good 
spirit, because they are loth to believe that they are naturally 
subject to the. evil spirit, and therefore they do not try the 
spirits whether they are from God. If this were not true, 
how could men have uttered so much egregious foolishness ? 
If it were not so, the striving after liberty and equality, after 
the rights of man and a higher culture, would not have 
brought so much grief and sorrow into the world. Dear 
brethren, let us pray God to grant unto us and our children 



* 2 Cor. iv. 4. 



SERMONS. 229 

a new spirit which does not part asunder the head and the 
heart, which God has joined together ; then shall we be 
illumined in heavenly light, " and shall with open face, re- 
flecting as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, be changed 
into the same image from glory to glory." * 

And this is also a constant, a certain spirit. For the Holy 
Spirit taught by facts, and with facts God did connect His 
operations and effects. He founded His kingdom on earth, 
when the people of God were led out of Egypt by mighty 
signs and wonders ; when 'mid thunder and lightning and 
mighty voices the law was as on this day given from heaven 
on Mount Sinai. 

This law of the Most High is one and immutable. Heaven 
and earth shall pass away, but these words shall not pass 
away : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, 
and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy 
strength, and thy neighbor as thyself. '' These words ought 
to contain the fundamental constitution of all lands and of 
all nations. The great events at the birth of Jesus Christ, 
during His earthly life at His resurrection and ascension, 
are also so many pledges and facts of the infallible truth of 
the book which we regard as the record and deposit of our 
faith, as a light that shineth in a dark place until the day 
dawn and the day star arise in our hearts. Therefore let 
us accept this word of the divine message, and try by it all 
our own views, and those of others, every sermon and every 
book, whether they conform to it. Then He will be able to 
work within us after His spirit a new and certain spirit, 
" that we be not tossed to and fro, and carried about with 
every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men and cunning 
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive j 1 '! then we 
shall have a firm foundation for our faith, and a conviction 
which cannot be shaken, and a certain spirit then rules us all 
the while, causing us to acknowledge the truth everywhere, 



* 2 Cor. iii. 18. f Eph. iv. 14. 



230 APPENDIX A. 

and to walk after the truth, and thus all our efforts and en- 
deavors will also be renewed. Love as the motive force of 
them all begins to be operative, and is the fulfilling of the 
law. Then we shall have no other mind than that of doing 
the will of our heavenly Father, and in every relation and 
circumstance of life there will arise the thought that we love 
and serve Him who first loved us, and render those happy 
who are near and around us. 

O dear and precious book, would that thou didst return to 
our homes and families ! then the spirit who dwells in thee 
would be shed on our age, and the great change for which 
we yearn, be wrought in our fellow-men, even the change 
promised in the words of our text — there would be created 
in us a tender, clean and good heart, and a new and a cer- 
tain spirit. 

II. 

But how does this change take place within us ? It is well 
worth while that we grow familiar with what transpires in 
our mind, and take a view of our true condition there. It is 
not by any means general, this introspection, for as has been 
already intimated, our age is wont to dispatch religiousness 
into the realm of sentimentality and imagination, just as a 
former age had locked it up in formality, and another allowed 
it to perish in cold rationalism. For men are prone to avoid 
worshipping God in spirit and in truth, prone to delude 
themselves in this matter, because the vital remembrance of 
God places them at His bar, and therefore they seek, as it 
were, to slip away, But our heavenly Father wants us to 
worship Him that way. On that account it behooves us to 
study ourselves, to inquire if the great change we have en- 
deavored to portray, has really taken place in us, if we have 
received His spirit to know and adore Him, as we ought. 
In his incomparably beautiful epistle to the Romans the 
Apostle St. Paul describes the different states of our spiritual 
nature (ch. vii. 7, 8) and their study is not only an appropriate 



SERMONS. 231 

meditation at this pentecostal season, but fraught with bless- 
ings not only to-day but for our whole life. He distinguishes 
the state of total unconsciousness (vii. 7, 8), in which men 
resemble the brute creation, from that of conscious resistance 
(vv. 9-14) in which they recognize a law which prompts 
them to do the will of God, accompanied, however, by the 
speedy discovery of another law in their members at variance 
with the law of God, warring against the law of their mind, 
and bringing them into captivity to the law of sin, and con- 
straining them severally to exclaim with the Apostle : " O 
wretched man that I am ! Who shall deliver me from the 
body of this death ?" (vv. 23, 24). He further draws a 
distinction between the state in which we begin to awake to 
true Christian consciousness by the knowledge of Jesus 
Christ as our Saviour, and, as it were, stretch forth the hands 
of our mind to serve the law of God (v. 25), and the state 
of those who are fully awake, and of whom he felt war- 
ranted to say : " There is therefore now no condemnation 
to them which are in Christ Jesus " (viii. 1) ; and it is with 
these that we are more especially concerned to-day in our 
endeavor to attain a clear conception of our own spiritual 
condition. 

The state in which we begin to grow awake differs from 
the latter in this way, that the Spirit of God operates in the 
former on the heart in the destruction of its stony nature, 
while in the latter the selfsame spirit dwells in it and has al- 
ready produced a good and tender heart. The first state is 
indispensably necessary in the work of our regeneration, but 
those who rest content therewith, and indulge the notion 
that momentary or transitory ebullitions of feeling, good in- 
tentions, and impressions of holiness will suffice, run great 
danger of relapsing into a state of death. No, we must ad- 
vance to victor}', to a full and absolutely clear state of being 
awakened and awake, and it is the Spirit of God who pre- 
pares us, by warnings or persuasive entreaties, for this condi- 
tion. 



232 APPENDIX A. 

Bald mit Lieben, bald mit Leiden, 
Kamst du, Herr mein Gott zu mir, 

Dir mein Herze zu bereiten, 
Mich ganz zu ergeben dir ; 

Dass mein innerstes Veiiangen, 

Mog' an deinem Willen hangen. 



Standing still, under the circumstances, means going- back; 
when He speaks we must hear, when He beckons we must 
follow ; when He causes us to learn and experience the 
misery and wretchedness of forsaking Him, the obstacles 
caused by foolish and idle talking, when He threatens us 
with the terrors of His law or sends us those who by kindly 
speech inflame our hearts, or directs some friend to strengthen 
and encourage us, or when He enables us to derive comfort 
from His blessed promises — under all these kindly leadings 
of His good providence, we are bound to follow Him, and not 
only 07ice, but always. It is thus that we are ever awakened 
anew, that there is a sounding and a stirring, and the dead 
bones start into life — but \vpe to those who fail to respond to 
His monitions. Then, in order to terrify us into obedience, 
He has recourse to menace, and brings to our consciousness 
the threatenings of His Word, which are sometimes very aw- 
ful and heartrending, e. g. : " Our God is a consuming fire ;" 
" It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God ;" 
"Fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in 
hell ;" which depicts to us sin in its most repulsive forms, in 
its exceeding sinfulness, in its ravages which undermine and 
destroy our peace, the happiness of the family, and the pros- 
perity of nations, and causes us occasionally to experience in 
our own life the misery and sorrow which overtake men for 
their contempt of God, and not fearing Him, or to convince 
us of the sinfulness of sin by filling us with loathing of all 
imbruting carnality, to let us feel the deadening influence of 
trifling, ungodly speech, and to estimate aright the perverse- 
ness of a worldly spirit in our domestic and social relations — 
so that we are unable any longer to doubt that sin is the ruin 
of men. 



SERMONS. 



233 



But, on the other hand, we should learn that it is right- 
eousness which exalteth a people. Therefore the promises of 
God concerning happiness and salvation give us most friendly- 
greeting, bidding us expect it both now and hereafter, in this 
world and the next, and directing us to the assurance and 
example of the happy estate of those who fear the Lord and 
walk in His ways. God is pleased to delight us with the 
spectacle of happy mortals, who in consequence of unfeigned 
piety have been blessed by Him in their temporal and spiritual 
affairs, in order that their conduct and example may move 
and incite us to imitate them. He leads to us kindly folk 
who by sweet, gentle and edifying words fill our heart with 
rapturous delight, and inflame it with the love of God ; dear 
friends who sympathize with us, and lovingly draw us along 
with them to the sunny realms of the heavenly life. He 
causes us to experience blissful hours, which yielding to our 
hearts the antepast of heaven, secure them for it forever — 
experiences causing us to perceive and feel within ourselves 
the covenant of peace, which has never been abolished by 
God, and needs only to be set up by us in order to save us, 
render us happy and exalt us to the glorious liberty of the 
children of God. 

This then, dear brethren, is God's way, the way of our 
heavenly Father, to drive and terrify us from the region of the 
shadow of death and to entice us into life. Happy are those 
who attend to it, and yield themselves to His gracious pur- 
poses. " Lo ! there is a noise, and a shaking, and the dead 
bones grow alive again." But the careless and indifferent, 
unwilling to move forward, and satisfied to remain at a stand- 
still where favoring circumstances have placed them, deem- 
ing this enough, and deluding themselves into the belief that 
they have the divine life, they, I say, will continue in death, 
unless they turn this very day, while they hear this voice, 
unless they do it now. But if they really and truly turn from 
their evil way, God will certainly succeed in bringing them 
to their senses, to a state of perfect waking, and create in 
them a new heart, a new and constant spirit. 



234 APPENDIX A. 

This being awake, dear friends, renders us conscious that 
the love of God and the love of man are dominant within us. 
If the love of God has been shed on us through the Holy- 
Spirit in Christ Jesus, and we have learned to know and be- 
lieve how precious we are unto God, then we experience that 
wonderful and glorious change of mind which thenceforth 
makes it our supreme delight to love Him, who first loved 
us ; then the beautiful power of love manifests its full strength, 
and we advance to a position in which we are able to control 
our desires and passions, to crush the enemy under our feet, 
and to exclaim triumphantly with the Apostle : " I live, yet 
not I, but Christ liveth in me." He is my pattern, Jesus Christ 
is to me the First and the Last, the Author and Finisher of 
my faith, His will and purpose is my will and purpose ; I seek 
not my honor, but the honor of my God and Saviour Jesus 
Christ. 

It was the conviction that God loves us, and was manifested 
in that He sent His only-begotten Son into the world that we 
should live through Him, which caused the mighty increase 
of believers and servants of the Lord on the first day of 
the Christian Pentecost. And the miraculous power of that 
conviction is still operative and destined in our time to breathe 
upon the slain that they may live, and so many among us as 
open their hearts to the entrance of that love, so many it will 
render heavenly minded and operative in the service of God. 

They have found the Father, who is full of tenderness and 
love to His children in evil days or in good. They rest in 
Flis heart, quickened and refreshed in the blissful possession 
of His love, and in the joyous hope of their incorruptible in- 
heritance in heaven above, they delight in the assurance that 
the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be com- 
pared with the glory which shall be revealed in us, freely 
confess that all things work together for their good, and join 
in the burst of rapture which caused St. Paul to exclaim : 
" If God be for us, who can be against us ? He that spared 
not His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall 
He not with Him also freely give us all things ? Who shall 



SERMONS. 235 

lay anything to the charge of God's elect ? It is God that 
justifieth ; who is he that condemneth ? It is Christ that died, 
yea, rather that is risen again, who is at the right hand ot 
God, who also maketh intercession for us ! Who shall separate 
us from the love of God ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or 
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? 
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through 
Him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, 
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things 
present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any 
other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love 
of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Amen. 

The congregation then sang these stanzas of Luther's 
Hymn : 

Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist, 

Und den rechten Glauben allermeist, etc. 



Du werihes Liclit. gieb uns deinen Schein, 

Lehr uns Jesum Christum erkennen allein, 

Dass wir an ihm bleiben, 

Dem treuen Heiland, 

Der uns bracht hat 

Zu dem rechten Vaterland. Kyrie eleison. 



Du siisse Lieb' schenk uns deine Gunst, 

Lass uns empfinden der Liebe Brunst, 

Dass wir uns von Herzen 

Einander lieben 

Und in Friede 

Auf einem Sinne bleiben. Kyrie eleison. 



2$6 APPENDIX A. 



II. 

A PARADOX. 

" When I am weak, then am I strong," 

2. Cor. xii. 10. 

Considered at Matins. 

O, Jesu Christ, mein schonstes Licht, 

Der du in deiner Seelen, 
So hoch uns liebst, dass man es nicht 

Aussprechen kann noch zahlen: 
Ach ! dass das Herz dich wiederum 

Mit Liebe und Verlangen 

Mog' umfangen 
Und als dein Eigenthum 

Nur einzig an Dir hangen. * Amen. 

The Lord who has mercy on us, dear brethren, causes His 
face to shine upon us, to shine upon us all, that we get well, and 
yet many among us are ill, and only a small number of Chris- 
tians realize the powers of the world to come, and have been 
strengthened and are Strong in the inner man. Yes, He causes 
His face to shine upon us, and we feel how far we still are 
from health, how little light there is within us, although the 
splendor of the light of His countenance is shed over us, and 
His peace is intended to benefit us all. How is it to be ac- 
counted for, unless it be by our perverse disposition ? For 
we must occupy a certain position or attitude of heart in 
order to be able to receive the radiance of God which goes 
out towards us from the face of Jesus Christ, His Son. 

As many of you, then, as desire the proper frame of mind in 
which the loving kindness of God glorifies itself and reflects 
in us with open face the glory of the Lord, I entreat to unite 
with me in prayer, that there may be revealed to us a proper 
insight of our nothingness and His loving heart, that we may 
, ^* 

* These words had been the subject of a sermon the day before. 



SERMONS. 237 

become more and more one with Him, and that He sup with 
us, and we with Him. Our Father, etc. 

Text : 11. Cor. xii. 10. 

" Therefore I take pleasure in weaknesses, in reproaches, in ne- 
cessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake : for when 1 
am weak, then am I strong" 

Apparently these words are a paradox, contradict and 
nullify each other. How can lie that is weak be strong ? 
But it is nevertheless a pure and divine truth which the 
Apostle here presents to us, a truth based on profound ex- 
perience, betokening- the very frame of mind and disposition 
of our heart which we desire, and must possess, if the wisdom 
from above is to dawn in us like a clear light. We must be 
weak that we may be strengthened in our weakness, accord- 
ing to the strength of Him who is able to do exceeding abund- 
antly above all that we ask or think. That was St. Paul's 
own experience, and therefore he preferred to glory in his 
weakness. Notwithstanding the great advances he had made 
in the spiritual life, he reverted again and again to this frame 
of mind as leading to yet greater progress, as unfolding yet 
greater treasures of knowledge. " Most gladly," he said, in 
the verse preceding our text, " will I rather glory in my weak- 
ness that the power of Christ may rest upon me.'' The per- 
fection, acknowledgment and sense of our own weakness is 
the indispensable prerequisite of our participation of the divine 
power, and on this account, when he had besought the Lord 
to deliver him from the Angel of Satan, who, in his graphic 
language, was smiting him with the fist, from the woe that 
caused him so much internal struggle and anguish, he was 
told: "My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is 
made perfect in weakness " (vv. 7-9). Now if this truth was 
the cardinal and central point of the divine life in which St. 
Paul stood, and, as is emphatically intimated in the text, 
caused him to derive therefrom more and more knowledge, 
how much the rather may it conduce to the growth of our 
knowledge of spiritual things. With this end in view we 



238 APPENDIX A. 

have chosen for our present meditation the words of the 
Apostle : 

" When I am weak, then am I strong," 

to ascertain : 1. The grounds of this truth ; and 2. By what 
means we may become weak in order that the power of God 
may grow mighty in us. 



Man is a creature of God, but a free being endowed with 
the powers and capacities of consciousness. This double 
truth solves the riddle and removes the seeming contradic- 
tion of the apostolic declaration, " When I am weak, then am 
I strong." 

Man is a creature of God, His handiwork, and in Him he 
lives and moves and has his being. Originally, therefore, his 
existence is derived from the will of the Most High, no less 
than all his powers. What have we then which we did not 
receive ? And how may the wants of our body and those of 
the soul be supplied and gratified unless the co-operating 
power of God cause them to turn to our profit and blessing ? 
The Lord from heaven is before all, and all things in Him do 
consist. Life and all its benefits flow from Him, and the lift- 
ing up of His countenance preserves our breath. But though 
this is generally allowed in respect of our outward life, it is 
as- generally disputed concerning the inward life of the soul ; 
nevertheless that inward spiritual life which we are destined 
to lead, the striving after the perfection of our being in the 
Holy Spirit, though we may resist it, and by our sinfulness 
render the gracious purposes of God of none effect, is, for all 
that, the work of divine grace, and has never been begun, 
furthered and completed without the assistance of God. This 
is agreeably to reason and the teachings of the Holy Spirit. 
And in this sense St. Paul declares: " Not that we are suffi- 
cient of ourselves to think anything, as of ourselves, but our 
sufficiency is of God." " For it is God which worketh in you, 
both to will and to do of His good pleasure.'' 



SERMONS. 239 

The reasonable reception of this well-founded truth into our ' 
hearts affords us a hint to the understanding of the seeming 
paradox : " When I am weak, then am I strong." For it is an 
unreasonable delusion to think that our strength is independ- 
ent and our own. Whence does it come if not from God ? 
Those who refuse to believe that God must work in us every 
good thought and honest resolution, cannot, of course, under- 
stand the meaning of the Apostle when he says : " When I 
am weak, then am I strong." But those who consider that 
God must work in us faith and the divine life after the work- 
ing of His omnipotence, and remember that without His help 
we cannot do anything, but with it everything, are already in 
a position, from one side at least, to comprehend the sense of 
the great truth of our text. 

But again, man, with all his powers, is not only a creature 
of God, but also a free and rational creature, according to 
his endowments. He is able to become conscious of his Cre- 
ator, of his relations to his fellow men and to the laws, which, 
in this respect, and for the ends of his existence in general, 
are founded in the universe. He is equally capable of becom- 
ing conscious of his ability to regulate his conduct according 
to these laws or relations, or to act in opposition to them ; of 
becoming conscious of his liberty, or the power, upon due re- 
flection and deliberation, to choose one course or another, 
to yield himself to the operations of the Divine Spirit, or to 
counteract them, to follow or resist them. 

Since his present condition is one of corruption, man is 
wont, in the misapplication of the powers accorded to him, 
frequently to prevent the influence of the Divine Spirit, both 
through restlessness and wilfulness. Restlessness or disquiet, 
easily produced from without or from within, renders us 
unable consciously to receive light and power from above. 
When under the influence of peculiar circumstances or rela- 
tions, the mind is perturbed and thrust into violent com- 
motion, it resembles the stormy sea, in which the sky and 
the stars cannot be reflected, and in like manner we are un- 
able in such a conflict of emotions to receive the imagre of 



240 APPENDIX A. 

God. The maddened powers within, the wild freaks of the 
imagination, contending ebullitions of feeling and tumultuous 
passions raging within him do not obey him, but carry him 
along with them. 

Though endowed with liberty or free will, yet having, in a 
state of disquiet, formed some purpose, we are prone to fall 
into wilfulness, and wilfully to oppose the will of God with all 
our strength; through outward entanglements or inward 
confusion, when bound in the fetters of pernicious prejudice, 
and under the influence of false views, we pursue crooked 
ways and do many things that are unprofitable. Wilfulness 
and self-reliance disturb the operations of the Holy Spirit, not 
only in respect of the immoderate pursuit of secular and sin- 
ful aims and enjoyments, but also in respect of the general 
purpose of amendment ; and this explains the phenomenon 
that even those who desire the better part are frequently 
checked in their progress through self-will, and through the 
self-complacent direction of the powers accorded to them, to 
remain estranged from God, to grow perturbed and confused 
in their ideas, and under the delusion of doing good in ac- 
complishing one thing or another, removing one or restoring 
another, virtually work against the purpose of God, and in- 
stead of drawing nearer to the divine life, drift more hope- 
lessly away from it. 

Whoever contemplates himself in this mirror will perceive 
how when he is strong, or exerts his powers in a wrong way, 
and strives to work according to the dictates of his own will, 
he may do unspeakable mischief ; for the main thing is not to 
work with power and to exert the power of which we are 
conscious, nor is it the measure of our strength of will, but it 
is its judicious direction, conformably to the divine will, to ac- 
complish His gracious purpose. It is only when we surrender 
our self-will and self-work, and, looking up to God, calmly 
allow Him to influence us, convinced that of ourselves we 
have not and cannot do anything, and must receive every- 
thing from His free grace, that w r e behold the glory of the 
Lord with unveiled face, and are glorified into the same light. 



SERMONS. 24I 

On this account, dear brethren, it behooves us to grow weak 
in ourselves that the power of God may the more mightily- 
work in us, for "when I am weak, then am I strong."' 

2. 

If, then, we deem it desirable to maintain that frame of mind 
and disposition of heart which render us capable of receiving 
the divine and sanctifying influence, the question comes up 
how and by what means we may reach the position of be- 
coming weak in order that the power of God may work in us 
mightily ? And we answer that it comes to pass in this way : 
becoming more and more conscious of our own nothingness, 
seeking to grow more familiar with our sinful corruption, and 
endeavoring to check all distraction, we open our hearts to 
the love of God in order to be influenced, penetrated and 
melted by it. 

For this purpose let us search and investigate our hidden 
blemishes, uncover the depths of sin, the secret lurking-places 
of our hearts alienated from God and so utterly perverted, 
that we may know the depth of our fall and the inveterate- 
ness of our pollution. When our dear Lord trod this earth 
of ours he sought sinners, for it is not the whole, but the sick 
that need a physician. But we must be animated through 
and through by the sense of our sinfulness before we can 
hear the voice of the Good Shepherd ; that gladly and with- 
out a will of our own, convinced of our inability, we suffer 
Him to take us in His arms and carry us on His shoulders. 
And towards this knowledge of ourselves, this familiarity 
with our true state, even-thing may minister in turn, our 
temptations, our stumblings and lapses, and all our trials. 

Our temptations, especially by tracing them to their deep 
sources, remembering that the proper information concern- 
ing our true nature flows not so much from our outward 
actions, as from the secret and hidden springs of motive of 
which they are only the expressions. These temptations in 
their curious, foolish, envenomed and variegated character 
disclose to us more and more the intensity of our natural 



242 APPENDIX A. 

depravity and corruption, our inability to work good in virtue 
of our own strength, and of our entire dependence on the 
help and support of our heavenly Father. It is then, that 
with greater willingness, more intense longing, more profound 
gratitude, we yield ourselves to the Father, whose gracious 
purpose it is to cleanse us in His Son from all unrighteous- 
ness ; it is then that we cleave to the Son with greater fidelity, 
as unto one that is able to save to the uttermost, any and all 
desiring to come to God through Him, it is then that we receive 
with greater joyfulness the spirit of grace and of prayer, 
gladdened by the bright beams of divine love, and convinced 
of the desperate and inveterate wickedness of our heart, attain 
to the beatific assurance that our safety and salvation depend 
not on our willing or running, but on the mercy of God. 

Our stumblings and lapses also may serve to promote our 
self-knowledge ; they will uncover the weakest points, the 
most vulnerable spots of our hearts, and disclose the dangers 
to which we are exposed. Our stumbling will perforce im- 
press us with a sense of weakness in perceiving that though 
aroused and awakened by the Spirit of God, though, as it 
were, miraculously changed in the bent and disposition of 
our will, which instead of seeking its own, turns God-ward, 
longs for the attainment of the highest felicity, desires to run 
with alacrity and joy in the way of the divine commandments, 
and the paths of peace — in perceiving that in spite of all this 
there comes over us a certain lassitude and apathy which in- 
terferes with the proper and energetic use of our powers, and 
causes us to yield to momentary ebullitions of feeling, or to 
thq seductive influence of plausible counter-representation. 
And lastly, dear brethren, the trials, afflictions and calami- 
ties to which we are subjected may serve to promote our 
humility. This we may perceive from the degree to which 
they are able to touch us, the depth to which they reach, and 
the extent of the decisive, and frequently perverted influence 
they exert both on the frame of our mind and our outward 
behavior. In this way we become gradually convinced of 
our weakness, and learn more and more of the poor avail of 



SERMONS. 243 

our own power in bearing" our burden and casting away the 
sin which doth so easily beset us. 

Let not pride prevent us from thus looking at ourselves, for 
we are prone to look at ourselves in the best light, and this 
inclination, this indulging of our self-love does not wholly 
leave us, even after the principal and capital change of our 
heart has already set in. Men fondly cherish the feeling of 
seeing themselves arrayed in loveliness, and of taking delight 
in the contemplation of their virtues ; they are prone to eye a 
certain degree of excellence they intend to acquire, rather 
than divine grace compassionating them in their natural 
misery, and the blessing of which they would enjoy, though 
its fruit in quality or quantity may not come up to their ex- 
pectations. For we do not desire to be that which under the 
circumstances we may be after the will of God, but we covet 
accomplishments to gratify our vanity and self-complacency. 
Hence we find many that complain of themselves and their 
condition; they complain, not because they abhor sin, but 
because they grieve, and are disappointed in appearing so 
meanly in their own eyes. It is pride which causes them 
to despair of themselves, if they are unable to present them- 
selves in their coveted excellence. But this grieving is very 
different from the godly sorrow which worketh repentance 
to salvation not to be repented of; for this latter calmly, 
meekly, patiently and resignedly endures the sight of sinful- 
ness, convinced that where the work of God has begun to 
operate, it will gradually gain the ascendency, occupy more 
room, forbidding sin to reign in us, and plainly showing us 
whence we are fallen, and how much we are stained and 
polluted by sin. But the former is impatient because the 
plant of righteousness is not immediately blooming in the 
perfection of its beauty, and exhibiting the riches of its fruit- 
age. Let us beware of that frame of mind; let us keep the 
seed of the divine in a good and honest heart, and bring forth 
fruit with patience. Our Lord, when He trod this earth ot 
ours, came to seek sinners, and He will seek us also, if we 
feel that we labor and are heavy laden. Therefore let us re- 



244 APPENDIX A. 

member what weak vessels we are, how ready to break, and 
how much we resemble a bruised reed, and smoking flax (i. e., 
a glowing- wick ready to go out) ! Then we shall humble 
ourselves, and our soul will recover health when with opened 
eyes we behold the filth that pollutes us, do not deceive our 
selves as to our hurt, and become familiar with our depravity 
and our natural nothingness. 

Moreover, it behooves us to shun distraction as much as 
possible, for that is the root of the evil. If we fail to seek re- 
tirement, to commune with our own heart and to collect our 
hidden powers, we are not able to use them at all. Allow your 
thoughts to range abroad where they may list, fly from one 
thing to another, and you are like a reed shaken with wind. 
But as we are destined to be plants to the praise of the Lord, 
firmly rooted trees of righteousness, we must, in order to re- 
cover our health, check distraction and diversion, shun it as 
much as we may, and erect a dam against it within. This is 
indispensable to the obtaining of that sense of weakness in 
which we grow strong, observe, mark, receive and apply to 
our salvation the drawings of divine grace. Preaching is 
plainly inadequate to meet the requirements of the case, if 
distraction is not checked; for were it adequate, the many 
thousand sermons preached to so great a multitude of hearers 
ought to produce a far greater and more efficacious influence 
of the Spirit of God on their hearts and lives. It is while men 
are distracted that the enemy cometh and taketh away the 
word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be 
saved — and in time of temptation, through the distractions of 
cares and riches and pleasures of this life, they fall away and 
bring no fruit to perfection. 

Therefore, keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of 
God, and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice of 
fools, and keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are 
the issues of life. Neither the word of the divine revelation, 
nor the experience of life will be profitable and conduce to 
to our melioration if we are distracted in mind. If then we 
are seriously desirous to know how matters stand within us, 



SERMONS. 245 

how poor we are and how dependent on God, to cultivate a 
sense of reasonable dissatisfaction with ourselves and main- 
tain a consciousness of weakness, we should be peculiarly on 
our guard to drive away everything from without that may 
hurt us and disturb our quietness. I say everything that 
may be misused or perverted in that direction, not excepting 
even strong pious emotions, for they also may lead astray. 
For just try and examine yourselves, dear brethren, after you 
have wept in seeming grief, if you know why and for what 
purpose your tears did flow? Under the influence of such 
vehement and tumultuous emotion, all orderly thought is apt 
to vanish, and from the first good thought that touched you 
and caused you to be so profoundly moved, you yielded to 
the influence of the excitement which made you deaf to all 
further attention, and if you did not hear any more, you did 
not think any more, and if you did not think any more, you 
did not understand and comprehend, and if you did not com- 
prehend you cannot possess anything or derive any blessing 
from it. Oh, that Christians would consider that the life of 
the Spirit must be received in full consciousness, and that 
every distraction must be checked and avoided, of whatever 
kind it be. Where that is done, the sense of weakness is sure 
to manifest itself, we look deliberately and consciously around 
and weigh the proportion of our strength to meet the im- 
portant requirements which here or there are expected of us. 
Therefore, dear friends, seeing that we are naturally inclined 
to be distracted and possessed by currents of thought and 
feeling, by fanciful illusions and delusions, driven from one 
fantastic vision to another, and cast from one frame of mind 
into another without knowing why or how it all comes to 
pass, let us take care and beware lest by such violent alter-' 
nations of tumultuous excitement we cease to be human be- 
ings. For in such a state of chaotic distraction, which carries 
us headlong hither and thither, our mind may be here or 
there, but we are not conscious of it; not personally conscious, 
and it is only personal consciousness that makes us truly 
men. The tension, moreover, of this spiritual excitement is 



246 APPENDIX A. 

inevitably followed by a reaction and relaxation, and the more 
we imagine that in virtue of such mental excitement, of such 
an upheaval and depression of mind, to have attained some 
extraordinary degree of excellence, the more egregiously do 
we deceive ourselves, and stray away, from the end of our 
heavenly calling. Let us then earnestly and honestly strive 
to avoid every kind of distraction, outward distraction by the 
careful regulation of our outward rule of life, and inward 
distraction, by the vigilant observation of what transpires 
within ; by regulating our feelings, by endeavoring to con- 
centrate our thoughts on Christ, and we shall feel our weak- 
ness, and be able to grow strong in the same. 

Finally, dear brethren, let us yield ourselves to the love of 
God, our Heavenly Father, as it is shed over us all through 
Christ Jesus our Lord, that, thoroughly humbled, we may ap- 
pear unto ourselves small and weak that the power of God may 
all the more mightily dwell in us. For there are in our nature 
depths that can hardly be fathomed, and hardnesses that can 
only be melted by that sacred fire. It is on this account that 
we must yield ourselves to the influence of the love of God in 
Christ, would we grow weak, for as it is the nature of love to 
yield itself to its object, to surrender self and to belong wholly 
to the beloved, so ought our heart to aspire after most inti- 
mate union with God, to surrender and present itself as an 
offering to our dear Father, to suspend all self-seeking and 
self-working until His Power operates in us, then both what 
we will and do is sure to succeed, to our joy and felicity in 
the omnipotent power of love, according to the good pleasure 
of His will. And this love we shall know by attending to the 
proofs of the same which everywhere surround us, and by 
considering that we are not worthy of the least of all the 
mercies, and of all the truth which He is showing unto us. 
Once in the way of this direction, the perceptive power of our 
eyes will grow more intense, and enable us to discover the 
traces of His kindness and the blessings of His love, and to 
become more receptive of its vitalizing beams. And as we 
contemplate the great work of Redemption, and seek to pene- 



SERMONS. 247 

trate the Love which bore our sins on the tree, and remitted 
them to us, and has called us to its peace and blessedness, the 
heart that is hard begins to melt, that which was dead is 
quickened, and the motions of tender and sweetest yearning 
draw from the depths of our soul this prayer of a godly poet : 

Zeuch mich ganz in Dich, 
Dass vor Liebe ich 
Ganz zerinne und zerschmelze, 
Und auf Dich mein Elend walze, 
Das stets driicket mich ! 
Zeuch mich ganz in Dich. 

Let this be also our prayer and the daily sighing of our 
heart : " Grant that Thy Love alone dwell in my soul." And 
in order to nourish and feed this sacred flame, let us read and 
meditate on the words of divine revelation, or the glorious 
hymns of our Hymn Book, in which the love of Jesus is so 
touchingly portrayed, to edify our hearts, and to lay us under 
increasing obligations of fidelity. If this love begins to glow 
within us, the heat thereof is sure to melt the hardest hard- 
ness and subdue the proudest mind, and we shall recover our 
health and grow strong in the inner man. 

Gracious Father, who desirest us to become sharers of 
thy salvation and felicity, thou knowest how many of thy 
children, through self-will and self-work, miss the mark 
which thou hast set them. May thy Good Spirit preserve us 
from such a lot, and may thy grace make us weak in order 
that we may grow strong. May it please thee to uncover our 
secret faults, to bless us with quietness, to collect our wander- 
ing and scattered thoughts, that we may know thee and see 
thee in the love with which thou hast regard unto thy ser- 
vants, earnest the sick and the weak in thine arms, and givest 
power to the weary and strength sufficient unto the weak. 
O Lord Jesus Christ, grant that with all our sorrow and 
misery we may fall into thine embrace, and in thy bosom find 
rest unto our souls. 

There is no other rest anywhere but in thee, we therefore 



248 APPENDIX A. 

pray thee let the fire of thy love melt us into a living sacrifice, 
holy and acceptable unto God! 

Also wird es noch geschehen, 
Dass der Herr uns wird ansehen, 
Und wir werden noch auf Erden, 
Gottes Liebesopfer werden. 



III. 

FIDELITY IN THE LEAST. 
St. Luke, xvi. 10-13. 



Preached in 1832. 



"Although the Christian religion is founded on knowledge 
and the conviction that 'God is Love,' not a few of our the- 
ologians and writers on ethics are in the habit of represent- 
ing our duty to God and to our neighbor as if duty and love 
were not essentially identical. For the declaration of Holy 
Scripture, that all the commandments are comprehended in 
that of the love of God and of our neighbor, imports that the 
practice of love is enjoined as a duty. But this love could 
not have been enjoined as a commandment or a duty, if it 
were only an appetite or passion, and therefore this com- 
mandment of love simply implies that every man is endowed 
with the faculty of admitting or repelling the affection of this 
love, which is freely offered to him, and freely solicits him. 
Moreover the identity of duty and love is indicated by the 
circumstance that both denote a connection. For the word 
duty (Pflicht=debituvi) or obligation is derived from being 
bound or connected {verpflichtet, verbwiden) and the sole 
difference between them is, that duty (obligation, i. e. the law) 
as a pervading power only incites connection, while love, as a 



SERMONS. 249 

fulfilling and indwelling power attracts ; hence love delivers 
us from the pressure of the law, just as the entrance of air 
into a body void of air delivers it from the pressure of the 
air. The connection which in duty is one-sided and enforced 
becomes reciprocal and free in love." Fr. Baader. 



As many of us, gracious Father, as are here assembled in 
thy presence, while we continue here, are stewards of the 
manifold gifts which thou hast committed to our keeping, 
and it is expected of a steward that he should be found faith- 
ful. Oh that we might be faithful in that which is entrusted 
to us ! Thou art faithful, O God ; thou art faithful and true, 
and without iniquity; just and right art thou ; and it is wrong 
to turn away from thee and not to requite thy faithfulness 
with faithfulness in return ; they that act thus crookedly are 
blots, and not thy children. But our trust is in thee, O Lord, 
and we would fain be faithful to thee ; for such as be faithful 
in love shall abide with thee. Amen. 

St. Luke xvi. 10-13. 

"He that is faithful in that which is least, is faithful also in 
much ; and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If 
thei-efore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, 
who will commit unto you the true riches ? and if ye have not been faith- 
ful in that which is another man's, who shall give you that which is 
your own ? No servant can serve two masters ; for either he will 
hate the one and love the other ; or else he will hold to the one, 
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon." 

We have here a condition of our salvation which cannot 
be gainsaid, for we have it from the Lord's self-own lips. 
What He requires is faithfulness, fidelity in the least, if He is 
to set us over much, fidelity now that we may be able to be 
received into everlasting habitations. "Be thou faithful unto 
death, and I will give thee the crown of life,'' said the First 
and the Last unto His Church. This word concerning fidelity 
is addressed in the first instance to those on whom He lifts up 



250 APPENDIX A. 

the light of His countenance, upon whom the gracious and 
merciful Lord casts the bright beams of His lovingkindness, 
in whose heart He has already kindled a spark of His love, 
to whom He has given a pound to trade withal for spiritual 
ends ; they are to be faithful and persevere to the end that 
they may be saved. But it bears also on others, it applies to 
every one, this word concerning fidelity, and especially con- 
cerning fidelity in that which is least ; for there is none 
among us destitute of the ability or opportunity to do good, 
and none may say : I have had little intrusted to me, and 
therefore I am not responsible ; for though much is expected 
of him to whom much is committed, yet the servant who re- 
ceived less, to whom only one talent was given, had to render 
account of his stewardship. 

We have to deal with " Fidelity in the Least,'' and propose 
to inquire : 

1. What are we to understand by it ? 

2. Why is this fidelity so necessary ? 

3. How may it be acquired ? 

I. 

What is fidelity, and fidelity in the least ? Fidelity is hold- 
ing fast and standing, persevering in love. When out of 
heaven, down from the Father of Light, love with its sacred 
beams lights hither and thither to kindle a spark in the hearts 
of men, fidelity denotes the stirring and keeping, the tending 
of the sacred flame of grateful return-love in our breast, the 
standing in the love wherewith He has loved us. Withdraw- 
ing from the noise and the distractions which assail us within 
and without, and threaten to make us lose out of sight the. 
glorious prize of our celestial vocation, to the stillness of re- 
tirement, we collect our thoughts that we may receive the 
blessings of the love of God and muse upon what is right and 
well-pleasing before God and our Father — we shall collect 
ourselves, if we are faithful. And having thus collected our- 
selves and learnt His gracious will to us-ward that believe, 



SERMONS. 251 

both within and around us, fidelity will go forth to meet Him, 
requite His love with return-love, and strive to think and act 
carefully and conscientiously according- to our knowledge of 
the truth. In word and deed, in thought and aim, even in 
the most secret motions of his heart, a faithful man will ap- 
prove himself pure and unblamable, and readily and cheer- 
fully aspire to self-denial to accomplish the gracious purposes 
of his Heavenly Father ; yea, in the conflict with obstacles 
and difficulties, if they arise, the faithful man will strain every 
nerve, and in spite of suffering and adversity, in dishonor 
and persecution, persevere unto the end in love. 

It is this fidelity which Jesus commends to us in the text, 
even in the least. He was then speaking of the proper use 
of earthly goods, and bade the rich Pharisees do good and 
gather riches for the future. Earthly goods He called an- 
ot/ier's, for they are only lent, and the unrighteous mammon, 
because of their unequal distribution, in consequence of sin 
having disturbed the relations of the world. Yea, He would 
say, though a man's possessions have not been acquired by 
dishonest means, yet he is bound to trade therewith as a 
faithful steward ; for God, in allowing the present state of the 
world to continue, set the poor by the side of the rich, that 
in the mutual exchange of temporal and spiritual gifts they 
might lovingly aid one another, and that the rich through 
the communication of their abundance might make friends 
with the unrighteous mammon, and through the blessings of 
love be exalted to everlasting habitations. 

Nor does this hold good of riches only ; it bears alike on 
every temporal good and relation, all of which should be duly 
estimated, carefully and conscientiously used for our own 
benefit and that of others, and most faithfully husbanded in 
the least. No matter how little and insignificant appear our 
professional duties, domestic affairs, or business concerns, let 
them be trifling or seem even contemptible, and our office so 
small and unimportant that it may seem almost exaggeration 
to describe it by that term, yet the precept of fidelity applies 
to all. It imports that we be faithful to God in the careful 



252 APPENDIX A. 

and conscientious discharge of our work, for His sake, and 
not with eye-service as men-pleasers, in things great and 
small, even the very least. "Whatsoever ye do in word or 
deed," exclaims the Apostle, " whether ye eat or drink, or 
whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God," " do all in the 
name of the Lord Jesus," * in the spirit and mind in which 
He would have done it in your place. In this case the secon- 
dary ceases to be secondary and rises to the first importance; 
the least is not so little but that it must be watched, observed, 
conscientiously regarded, and faithfully used ; here your ac- 
quaintance and your privacy, your recreation and your work, 
your speech and your silence, what you do or omit to do, will 
have to pass muster and be judged by the will and law of 
your God, t that it may please Him, benefit your neighbor, 
and promote your happiness ; and here comes in that saying, 
that things may be lawful to you but not profitable, and you 
may do much, but it will be unprofitable unless you do it 
heartily. So, this is fidelity in the least. 

II. 

Why is this fidelity so necessary ? 

The time of our earthly pilgrimage, and everything that 
belongs to it, is a time of probation, this is the primary reason 
of the great necessity of faithfulness. It is all of God's own 
guiding, conforms to His gracious plan of educating us, and 
designed, according to His paternal counsel, to be a school 
and discipline for our improvement and ultimate success. 
From the first moment of our consciousness until we lay the 
pilgrim-staff aside, wherever we be, and whatever we meet, 
He has foreseen it all, provided and ordered it to our sancti- 
fication through the exhibition of faithfulness. The final de- 
cision will not depend upon what we have done, but upon 
how we have done it ; "Whosoever shall give to drink unto 
one of the least a cup of cold water only in the name of a 

* Col. iii. 17-23 ; 1 Cor. x. 31. 
f Cf. Reinhardt, Uebcr den Werth der Kleinigkeiten, etc. 



SERMONS. 253 

disciple, verily he shall in no wise lose his reward."* And 
even as in the education of our children little and insignifi- 
cant circumstances and occurrences afford us a sure measure 
of their heart and mind, so in like manner the judge of the 
quick and dead will observe a similar rule and standard of 
judgment : " He that is faithful in that which is least, is faith- 
ful also in much ; and he that is unjust in the least, is unjust 
also in much." 

It is, moreover, characteristic of love to be charmed and 
delighted by taking note of little and seemingly trifling things, 
and to proclaim itself not only by great sacrifices, but also 
by tender carefulness in the least. It will manifest itself by 
fidelity, if, for instance, in the narrow circle of our home we 
try to make trifling circumstances profitable to our fellow- 
men, to develop the least into the great, and as to ourselves, 
give heed to place every step we take, and every word we 
utter, under the guardian care and inspection of the good 
Spirit who moves the hearts of the children of God. Who- 
ever you are, young or old, husband or wife, and whatever 
your station, high or low, whether little is committed to you 
or much, if you are faithful, you will have praise of God in 
that day which will bring to light the hidden things of dark- 
ness, and will make manifest the counsels of the heart. 

Again, the least, the most trifling and insignificant, is part 
of the great and whole. Every day is linked in the chain of 
your life, and not an hour of it may be wasted without some 
loss to you of what was intended for your good. Every 
providence, likewise, that befalls you, is a drawing nigh of 
the Father's heart to your own, a look of His eye into yours, 
beckoning you, a pressure of your hand by His, bidding you 
draw nearer to Him, enter into friendship with Him and 
make your calling and election sure. Where is the situation 
and where the relation that is not connected with the supreme 
end of our existence, and that cannot be utilized for it ? Can 
you name anything in the experience and the incidents of 

* Matth. x. 42. 



254 APPENDIX A. 

your daily life unsuited to God's plan of educating us, or no 
calculated to promote His purpose with us ? Reflect on all 
the events marking the whole course of your life from tender 
infancy through all the years of your development, from the 
cradle in which you were rocked to the altar before which 
you ratified your vows, from the happy unconcern of child- 
hood, free from sorrow and from care, to the anxieties of 
your riper years ; reflect on them and you will be constrained 
to own that they are wonderfully and intimately interlinked 
and interwoven ; a single circumstance, even the least, had it 
taken another turn, might have entirely changed your course 
of life ! But His eyes were open over all your ways, and He 
saw you, yet being imperfect, and in His book all your days 
were written which were to come with all their events ; * but 
He nevertheless has placed your destiny into your own hands. 
It is then abundantly clear that there is absolutely nothing 
which you might deem to be immaterial, or not fraught with 
important results ; everything affects you inevitably for good 
or for evil — and this proves the necessity of faithfulness in 
the great and in the least — and in the least that we may 
gain the great. 

And it is necessary, in the last place, because it is an exer- 
cise preparatory for eternity. If ye have not been faithful in 
that which is another man's (German : a stranger's posses- 
sion), ye that are strangers on earth, who will give you that 
which is your own ? 

The elementary parts of school instruction, the beginnings 
of art or of a trade, are apt to be little thought of in later 
years"; but he that has not mastered them is hindered in the 
progress, and having failed to lay a good foundation, he will 
remain forever a bungler in his calling. The exercise of 
power and its development are starting points and props of 
fitness and usefulness all through life. The same holds good 
with respect to the affairs of our immortal spirit. The earthly 
house of this tabernacle will crumble into dust, our temporal 

* Ps. cxxxix., 16 based on Luther's version. 



SERMONS. 255 

relations will be dissolved, and they will ask for us in vain 
hereafter where once we stood ; but the power exercised and 
developed in our temporal relations, the mind set and fixed 
on God, seriousness, strength of purpose, honesty under all 
circumstances, sincerity, pureness, heeding the voice of con- 
science, and the warnings and exhortations of the Word of 
God, the truth and righteousness acquired and maintained in 
the good fight, divine zeal in the pursuit of good developed and 
exhibited under the essentially low and oppressive work of 
our daily life and the sacred flame which animates and im- 
pels us to action — all these, dear brethren, have become our 
own ; they are and constitute the true riches which abide, and 
accompany us to the better, the perfect world. " He that 
hath been faithful over a few things shall be made ruler over 
many things, and enter into the joy of his lord."* Oh that it 
might be your studious and urgent endeavor to be most careful 
and conscientious in the things that are of the earth, earthly, 
that you may be found worthy to be promoted to a higher 
order of things, and entrusted with the eternal, because you 
did approve yourself on earth a good steward of the manifold 
grace of God. 



III. 



How may it be acquired ? How is it possible to be 
faithful ? 

If fidelity is holding fast and abiding in love, let love be 
practised. Love is of God, and God is Love ; love, therefore, 
will raise you above appearance, and you will seek and find 
in it the life and the truth. But it must be the love of which 
the Lord says : " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all 
thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and 
thy neighbor as thyself.'' You cannot acquire or appropriate 
it by your own effort ; for He is come to kindle this sacred 
fire on earth. He delights to excite and waken love, and to 

* Matth. xxv. 



256 APPENDIX A. 

kindle even in you the divine spark of love, and along with it 
freely to give you all things. The cross is set up aloft that from 
it there may flow a never-failing fountain of love to all that 
believe in the doctrine and word of reconciliation. The 
sacred river of that love sweeps along, you also have been 
baptized in it, and often made to feel the love, wherewith 
God has loved us. 

Cherish this love and practise it ; this is your work and 
you are required to do it. The flame of the love of God is 
destined to burn pure and undivided in your heart, that you 
maybe found faithful. "No man can serve two masters ; 
for either he will hate the one and love the other ; or else 
he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot 
serve God and mammon;" you cannot at the same time 
serve the world and God, or selfishness and love. Take heed 
then, and watch, lest the sacred flame be damped and choked 
through distraction or the filth and pollution of sin. " If any 
man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." 
Separate and decide * within yourself that you may know 
whether you are serving God or not serving Him ; do not in 
idle pampering of the flesh confound what God is doing with 
what you might and ought to do ; do not say : " The Lord 
will grant me fidelity, for I have asked Him in prayer;" for lo ! 
it is He that is standing at the door of your heart, entreating 
you to be faithful, because unless you watch and strive, He 
cannot make you faithful any more than the slothful servant 
in the parable, f lest like him, you be cast into outer darkness, 
where is weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth, the 
place reserved for recompense unto hypocrites, unto such 
who for a pretence make long prayers, to move Him to pity, 
as if He were a hard man exacting impossible things — but 
who nevertheless refuse to be faithful, and to do what and as 
He bids them — which they are fully able and ought to do. 

Yea, practise love that it root itself in faithfulness. The 

""' German : Scheide und entscheide, 
f Matlh. xxv. 



SERMONS. 257 

outgoings of the love of God are never ceasing to give you 
all things that pertain unto life and godliness. Oh! that you 
would heed it, and keep it, and flee from the transitory lust 
of the world; that you would guard your immortal soul, and 
never forget what He has done for you ; that through apathy 
and idleness you would never obey men more than God, and 
that in the power of love you would burst and fling aside the 
shameful fetters of sin, act like a man, and courageously do 
the work and will of God. 

Loving and beloved you will grow nearer and dearer to 
Him, become one with Him in spirit, and rejoice in the expe- 
rience that the faithful and merciful Lord has thoughts of 
peace to you-ward ; it will be your joy to live near to Him, 
and raised in that sweet communion, as it were, to heaven 
above, you will from that higher plane of observation look on 
the earth and earthly affairs and see them in their true light ; 
you will realize that the earth and honor with men cannot 
suffice to satisfy the wants of your soul ; and rising superior 
to the world, and true to Him that calleth you and is faithful, 
you also will be faithful in all your ways. " For the moun- 
tains shall depart, and the hills be removed ; but my kind- 
ness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of 
my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on 
thee."* Amen. 

Is. liv. 10. 



APPENDIX B. 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR, EXTRACTS FROM HIS 
WRITINGS AND THE WORKS OF OTHERS. 



JOHANN HEINRICH SCHONHERR, A SUMMARY OF HIS LIFE 
AND VIEWS. 

He was born November 30, 1770, at Memel. His father 
was a non-commissioned officer in an infantry regiment, and 
universally esteemed ; his name was originally Schonhagen, 
but being a very handsome man, the Austrians, among whom 
he spent some time as a prisoner of war, called him Schsn- 
herr (z. e., handsome man, or gentleman) ; the alteration 
pleased him so much that he retained it, and it became the 
family name. His wife, Heinrich's mother, was a native of 
Angerburg, where they went to live afterwards. Heinrich, 
in his fifteenth year, was apprenticed with a merchant at 
Konigsberg, but being addicted to books, left his employer, 
and managed to acquire the necessary modicum of attain- 
ments to enter the university ; his original design to study 
theology he soon abandoned, and chose in its place philosophy 
under Kant. After six months' connection with the univers- 
ity at Konigsberg he left it in the autumn of 1792 ; but during 
that stay he had already (in his twenty-second year) com- 
menced independent researches, and discovered, on his ex- 
cursions in the neighborhood, the first traces of the truth 
which he taught afterwards, when after about two years' 

258 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 259 

travels, on which he went to other universities, and six years' 
occupation as a private tutor, he returned to Konigsberg. His 
views he communicated, on a journey through Germany in 
181 7, to a number of professors in different universities ; but 
they did not commend themselves to their judgment. In 1823, 
he visited his brother at St. Petersburg, and in 1824 he was at 
Berlin. During the last years of his life he made mechanical 
experiments, which were entirely unsuccessful. In con- 
sequence of an old pulmonary complaint he died at Spittel- 
hof, belonging to Juditten, near Konigsberg, in the church- 
yard of which place he was buried. He died October 15, 
1826. 

He was a handsome man, of tall stature. He wore, on 
grounds of health, his hair long, and a beard descending to 
his chest ; this was very becoming to him and in perfect ac- 
cord with the dignity of his carriage, his expressive face, and 
his noble stature. 

Though he never held an office, he was a man of active 
habits, and search for the truth his dominant thought by day 
and night ; under its influence the claims of nature were 
neglected, he would forget his meals, and many a night he 
spent waking. The whole man, in appearance, in his habits, 
and chiefly in his views, was diametrically opposed to the 
prevailing spirit of the times. He was like an ancient seer, 
who had returned to a world that knew him not, neither 
could understand him. Intellectually he was a giant, and 
his power of will was prodigious; convinced that his phil- 
osophical and religious views were true, he could endure 
anything rather than opposition or contradiction. There lay 
his weakness. In disputations his dialectical skill was un- 
disputed, and he usually came off victor. Naturally fiery, 
earnest and impassioned, and gifted with great eloquence, 
the impress of sincerity and conviction stamped upon his 
every word, few could resist the influence of his great power. 
Solemn, devout, impassioned flowed the stream of his elo- 
quence, stirring the hearts, moving the passions and convinc- 
ing the understanding of his hearers. 



260 APPENDIX B. 

Starting in doubts as to the destiny of man, and the im- 
mortality of the soul, and seeking by his own researches to 
solve those questions, and to harmonize revelation with nature 
and reason, he published the results of his inquiries in two 
pamphlets (Sieg der gdttlichen Ojfenbarung, Victory of the 
Divine Revelation, Konigsberg, 1804), and gathered round 
himself a circle of friends who twice a week had meetings to 
which strangers were freely admitted. In 1809 these meet- 
ings were interfered with on the part of the police, but allowed 
to take place by express order of the king. 

The essential difference between Schsnherr's philosophy 
and that of other systems is its relative dualism, as the cause 
and foundation of original existence, and proceeds on the 
hypothesis of two original Beings, endowed with the properties 
of simplicity and spirituality, viz. : Primal Light {Primal Fire) 
and Primal Darkness {Primal Water), the former being pre- 
eminent as to dominion, the Lord God among the Primal 
Beings (Elohim), the Creator, Preserver and Governor of the 
world. 

Schonherr was not a modern gnostic ; the dualism cognized 
by him in nature and in revelation is entirely free from the 
errors of the ancient gnostics, and not by any means coinci- 
dent with Schelling's doctrine of the potencies. He never 
framed a system, separate, concise and distinct. And there 
is perhaps no teacher in modern times who has been more 
flagrantly caricatured and misrepresented than Schonherr ; 
and it would be well nigh incredible that slander could in- 
vent what it did invent and cause to be believed, if it were 
not unfortunately matter of history. Of the nature of those 
slanderous inventions it is unnecessary to speak here, for 
that were to give further currency to it ; and if anything is 
clear as noon-day it is the undoubted and well-established 
purity of Schonherr and his teaching. 

In the language of a noble Christian lady of uncommon in- 
tellectual strength, and as to every Christian virtue a very 
saint upon earth, gifted with graces and endowments rarely 
encountered in one person, Schonherr's doctrine is distin- 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 261 

guished in its being founded upon the Scriptures and in per- 
fect accord with their teachings from all other human systems, 
which, in presence of the great system of the world evolving 
or involving itself into being, as it were anticipate its original 
completion, by accomplishing a ready-made world, in order 
to have done with their own narrow ends, leaving it to others 
to perform a similar play in its place. Such systems, desti- 
tute of vital connection with the centre of life, are mostly 
short-lived, rudely shaken or hopelessly rent by the onsets of 
younger ones, which, though not strong enough to give them 
the coup de grace, place them among the ruins where the 
funeral of their own existence, decaying amid truth and error, 
is destined to be performed. . . . Schonherr was unable 
to frame a system based on human laws ; truth cannot be 
systematized ; it is the tuning-fork of the world and the law 
of its motion, it regulates life and causes it to articulate in 
proper forms, influences the individual and stamps its laws 
on his consciousness and nature. Schonherr, in order to 
show that he was not a systematizer or a sort of second-hand 
creator arrogating to himself the honor due to God, called the 
results of his researches the knowledge (cognition) of the truth, 
and not his system." {Die Liebe zur W'ahrheit, p. xvii.) 

The extracts which follow are drawn in part from his own 
writings, and from those of others, especially from those of 
Ebel, Diestel and Countess Ida von der Groben ; from the 
nature of the case they are only fragmentary, but they will, 
it is believed, serve to show how Schonherr spoke, and how 
he thought and reasoned. As to the quality of his thoughts, 
however much the reader may differ with him in other re- 
spects, there is no room for difference, and many of his posi- 
tions and conclusions are entitled to careful examination, and 
he will find that they contain much that is highly suggestive, 
if not positively new to him. Indeed, the circumstance that 
the writings of Schonherr are out of print, and those of the 
other authors only rarely met with, seemed to impose the 
necessity of furnishing extracts rather than references, which 
without access to the books, would be of no use. 



262 APPENDIX B. 



SOME DETAILS RELATING TO THE TEACHING OF SCHONHERR. 

The fundamental principle is the reception of the Bible as 
God-inspired, without any weakening or neutralizing modifi- 
cation whatsoever. Its inspiration is plenary ; it is through 
and through the Word of God, the Revelation of Truth, the 
declaration of His Will. The philosophy of the Bible is the 
only true philosophy. The Bible is the source of all true 
knowledge concerning God, the Creation, Providence, and 
Redemption. In this respect we have only one alternative : 
either deny that the Bible is the revelation of God in its en- 
tireness, and turn rationalist, skeptic, atheist, pantheist or in- 
fidel ; or admit that it is through and through the Word of 
God, and according to the testimony of Christ and His Apos- 
tles "given by inspiration of God, profitable for doctrine, for 
reproof, for correction, for discipline in righteousness, that 
the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all 
good works."* This admission, and believing reception of 
the Holy Scriptures involves these consequences : 

i. The unconditional acceptance and belief of the strictly 
literal and grammatical sense of its declarations, unless their 
spiritual or figurative import is evident, as, e. g., in the 
parables. ; 

2. Their interpretation by themselves, and the general 
analogy of the Scriptures ; 

3. The exclusion of any and every theory which imputes 
to the inspired writers a system of accommodation, or arbi- 
trarily restricts their statements to temporary or local circum- 
stances ; 

4. Suspense of judgment in things incomprehensible (for 
all men are not equally gifted, and things still hidden may 
be revealed) ; the utmost care not to reject as untrue, or un- 
worthy of God, scriptural statements in seeming conflict with 
our present state of culture ; for the end is, by searching the 

* 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 263 

Scriptures and drawing from their pure fountain, to attain the 
knowledge of the truth.* 

The inquiries, the momentous questions Schonherr sought 
to answer by an appeal to Holy Scripture, are summarily ex- 
pressed in the following stanza : 

Hier bin ich ! rief der Mensch— und ward in Gottes Hand ; 
Wie bin ich ? — fnig er schon, als kaum er f ertig stand ; 
Wo bin ich? — staunt er an die Welt um sich im Glanze. 
Wozu bin ich ? — Wozu ist um mich dieses Ganze ? 

I am — how am I made ? Where am I ? What am I made 
for ? What is the world, and what is it for ? These, and 
questions of similar import, set Schonherr to think, and to 
turn to the Bible for light. And thinking, and reading, and 
praying, the light came to him. Here is one of his secret 
communings : 

14 Thou, O God, revealest to us that only he does not know the 
truth, who disobediently separates himself from thy workings, who 
in will and deed seeks to avoid thy lawful order which makes our 
knowledge consistent and true ; that man, erring, brought sin and 
its sad consequences on himself, and still brings them on himself 
as long as he perseveres in sin ; but thou art merciful and gracious, 
long-suffering, and abundant in goodness -and truth, leaving untried 
no means compatible with our nature, liberty and reason, to lead us 
back into the way of truth, to draw us out of misery, corruption 
and woe, to renew us, and graft us anew like a branch into the 
stem of thy only-begotten Son (thy Word, by Whom thou hast also 
made all things), that of His Spirit out of His blood we may acquire 
renewed strength for victory in the struggle with evil, and blessed 
with the forgiveness of our sins, restored to righteousness and holi- 
ness, stand as thy children before thee, to enter upon our incor- 
ruptible inheritance in a new life and a new world. How can I be 
careless now in the search of eternal truth, disbelieve that I shall 
find it, and without hope of the eternal enjoyment of its glorious 
fruits ? No, with unremitting diligence I will now seek the truth, 



*Ebel, Schlussel zur Erkenntniss der Wahrheit, Leipzig, 1837, p. 7. 



264 APPENDIX B. 

inquire and search for it in the right way, regard it with admiration 
and accept it with ecstatic joy. . . . Wrong pride shall not 
mislead me any more in the vain conceit of grasping it by means of 
my own reason, or of developing it within myself by my own powers ; 
that were to lose it. I will seek it reasonably, and not unreasonably, 
and avoid regarding thy glorious dower as a sundered fragment of thy 
infinite wisdom, or as a gift wrought by thy omnipotence but separated 
from it, to be used at my discretion ; I will rather regard it as the 
operation of Thy Essence near, and intimately blended with my 
being, identifying it in thy commandments of order, righteousness 
and holiness, and shunning evil as contained in the opposite tempt- 
ations, which, though they seek to excuse concupiscence, can never 
rejoice the mind or be approved by it, but must, if indulged, event- 
uate in error and misery. Whenever I think, or will, or do any- 
thing without regard to the difference of these two opposite voices 
within me, or without the distinct perception that the voice of the 
Alone Good within me thinks, wills or prompts me to action, then 
I think of reason as my own faculty, and not as the faculty of God, 
and therefore abuse it. On this account, then, I will avoid em- 
ploying my own reason as conducing to evil, but employ reason as 
thy gift, in full consciousness, all the oftener and more diligently, 
because it is Thy Will that I shall think, will and act reasonably, 
and thereby grow wise and happy."* 

Speaking of change, and arguing on the universality of its 
existence, and the laws which seem to regulate it, Schonherr 
asks : 

" Whither would the most careful consideration of all the changes 
within and around us ultimately lead us if we fail to know the true 
reason of their existence and formative aim ? Simply look back- 
wards and forwards on our condition of life, and we are constrained 
to say : I find that I was a child and became a youth ; that I am 
growing into manhood — and if it be reserved for me that ven- 
erable gray deck my brow, I shall, arrayed in feebleness, descend 
into the grave. Into the grave ? a thought fit to crush giant pride! 
all my feelings recoil from the thought ! Alas ! should May only 
bloom, and its breath ravish, its shade refresh, and the nightingale 

* " Grundziige der Erkenntniss der Wahrheit,'" p. 14, 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 265 

sing, and the grape grow mellow, to whisper in the flowers, in 
their balmy fragrance, in the animating breeze, in the warble of the 
songsters, and the delicious juice, the horrid remembrance, Mor- 
tal man, to-day you feel as yet a spark of happiness, but remember 
that irrevocable fate may snatch you to-morrow from eveiy enjoy- 
ment for evermore ! And you, the most cherished of treasures — 
love, friendship and virtue — three sister goddesses, wont to scatter 
roses on the earthly path of the best, tell me, why do you breathe 
into mortal breast divine feelings which in point of duration can no 
more measure eternity than a drop of water the unfathomable sea ? 
What ? did some potent hand raise me from the dust into life only 
to dash me with the same potency back into my former nothing- 
ness? Tyrants that cast thousands and thousands of better men 
into roaring flames were not as cruel, as unmerciful as He would be 
who gave me life only as the perpetual torture of an uncertain fu- 
ture ! But I look at the misery of the race in all its magnitude ! 
Friends and relations, brothers and sisters, companions of my life, — 
I look at you, and all that came before you, asking ; What murder- 
arm robbed you of all the highest good of this earth ? Who was it 
that swept the devastating sickle of terrific death unsparingly over 
the lives of you all ? Why have you ceased to walk amongst us in 
the noonday of your strength ? Where are you, brothers and sisters 
mine, and all your ancestral fathers and mothers up to the first scion 
of the race ? I see thee no more, Abel the shepherd king and first 
servant of the Most High God, by the flowery banks of Euphrates i 
Was it necessary that thy own and first brother should slay thee 
and give thee the first instruction of the ravages of death ? O hap- 
less race, how deep was thy fall from the very cradle of thy great- 
ness into the abyss of woe ! and thou still continuest to slake thy 
thirst with the blood of thy brethren, and to still thy hunger with 
the toil of the poor and infirm without supplying any possible rem- 
edies. . . . And is this to be your ultimate lot — the course of your 
culture and the goal of your destiny — that born as a child you die 
even more pitiable than a child, without attaining the lofty dignity 
of manhood ? — or as an imaginary man, after a few steps on the 
road to perfection, wander from it as a withered apprentice? — or 
that after the happy dream of a few moments of life, you wake no 
more but to number your steps to your grave ? and what then ? are 
not your wishes carried on pinions boasting of happiness into eter- 



266 APPENDIX B. 

nity ? Does your consciousness long to expect the dust of annihila- 
tion, or your germinating reason the decay of corruption ? 

" But who furnishes the necessary evidence that, though the 
nobility of virtue should sanction all your opinions and volitions by 
an unexceptionable law, and represent all your works as examples 
worthy of imitation, that you are warranted to expect, beyond the 
grave, a spark of recollection, or a compensatory emotion ? You 
do not even know whether your own self was formed by a wise 
deity or through the concurrence of crude atoms — whether it be a 
single thinking substance or only a multitude of monads, composed 
exclusively of spiritual matter under a bodily form, or of really 
divisible matter. Are you able to know that Charon's trusty boat 
will take you to the eternally calm and happy shores of 
Elysium, or that devastating storms will drive you into every part of 
the earth, and an eternally blind course of nature transform you 
into a thousand other existences, if you do not know the pilot who 
brought you to the motley shores of this life, and never saw the 
great artificer who spun and wove the flower of your life and 
guided your fortune as with a staff ? Are happiness or unhap- 
piness, virtue or vice, the daughters of your will ? What a contra- 
diction do you perceive in the concept of a loving ruler of innumer- 
able woidds, filled with infinite multitudes of creatures, minister- 
ing and not ministering, useful and hurtful, life-engendering and 
life-destroying, moral and immoral ! He that implanted in your 
heart the sweetest anticipations of the happy continuance of life 
after seeming death, nevertheless enshrouds the beatific assurance 
in inexplicable darkness. 

" Here, then, O hapless race, is presented a mirror in which you 
may observe the degradation of a greatness which began to shun 
you with the fall of brotherly love ! How will you now rear the 
scaffold of your happiness and found the throne of your knowledge ? 
Truly, nothing is able more effectually to check the excesses, of 
your vice and to crown with well-deserved blessing the small rem- 
nant of your virtue, than learning to understand and practise the 
good and the right, not in pretended faith, but as the result of well- 
informed conviction. Then immortality will not merely glimmer 
on your path as a blessed star of hope, but illuminate it with 
bright expectation, and the just as well as the unjust may already 
mete out their recompense of reward this side the grave. And if 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 267 

your earthly happiness is to realize those ideals of perfection which 
the mind can form and the heart longs for, you must learn to under- 
stand your origin, the duty of your existence, and the ultimate end 
of your destination. You must learn to hear and know your noth- 
ingness and your divine greatness from the indubitable truth that 
God is your Father, who has given you all you have, and who can 
give you everything. Then, and then only, will peace re-enter your 
tabernacles, concord clasp the hearts of brothers, love unite a people 
of brothers on earth, joy bound for you in every blade of grass, 
God live for you in the smallest flower, appear to you in the very 
dust, and the brotherhood of all the earth become a universal 
Eden."* 

On the subject of happiness I present the following extract: 

" The innate or implanted desire of all creatures is as plain as 
possible ; they all desire happiness. This is likewise the secret 
wish of man, the realization of which depends, however, on his 
growing fit for happiness and worthy of it, through the full develop- 
ment of all his faculties, intellectual, spiritual and moral, and the 
full conviction that this is not his own exclusive privilege, but a 
privilege he shares in common with every member of the human 
family. Still it must be remembered that worth alone, either 
viewed personally as before his own conscience, or relatively with 
respect to others, cannot be the sole end of moral conduct, for 
worth is far more than the mere sound of it ; it is a pleasing and 
delightful emotion, springing from the consciousness of the proper 
fulfilment of duty with respect to ourselves and others, and assuring 
us that, as pure and moral beings, we are fit and worthy to live as 
men amongst men. ... 

" But if the cognition of moral worth is always accompanied by a 
pleasing and delightful emotion, or at least by peace and content- 
ment, does it not seem as if that delightful consciousness, springing 
from the cognition of moral worth, were the true end of moral con- 
duct ? Were moral precepts not presented to and inscribed upon 
our heart and mind in order to make us, with the rest of the human 
family, partakers of happiness? Or are we to disallow that the 

*1. c. p. 24. 



268 APPENDIX B. 

consciousness of moral worth, of peace of mind and contentment, 
is a delightful emotion and constitutes happiness ? But it is im- 
possible that there should be consciousness without emotion, and 
cognition without consciousness, and the cognition of moral worth 
without consciousness f every emotion, moreover, must be pleasing 
or displeasing, and every emotion which springs from the con- 
sciousness of moral worth, peace of mind and contentment must 
be pleasing, not displeasing ; and if every pleasing emotion enters 
into the notion of happiness, it follows that the pleasing emotion 
which springs from the consciousness of moral worth, renders us 
happy. And if it renders us happy at any time, or only once, 
as it necessarily must, it follows that the ultimate reason of moral 
precepts sets forth the lofty aim of placing happiness within reach 
of the whole human family. But as this end cannot be accom- 
plished otherwise than in conformity with the plan of moral pre- 
cepts, we learn that for this purpose they are presented to the 
mind and inscribed upon the heart. The ultimate, true and sole 
aim of the reasonable activity of every man is, and must remain, 
the obtaining of his happiness, to be striven for in the assured 
way of truth and righteousness." * 

The views of Schonherr we have considered thus far do 
not present anything at all out of the way, they are just such 
views, which a thoughtful biblical mind would naturally 
evolve by hard, compact reasoning, and some of his positions 
are. singularly well taken, and expressed in strong, terse lan- 
guage. We shall now consider others which characterize 
the method of his inquiries, and his presentation of doctrine. 

I begin with the term God. God.f according to him, de- 
notes not absolute, but relative Being, and Being in the sense 
of Existence. Were it not so, how could Christ — who de- 
clared that, 

" ' To this end was I born, and for this cause came I. into the 
world, that I should bear witness unto the truth ' (St. John xviii. 37) 
argue as He did with the Jews {lb. x. 24 sqq.) when He had told 

* 1. c. p. 48. 

f Panier der Wahrheit, etc. Konigsberg, pp. 28, 29. 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 269 

them : 'I and my Father are one,' and they charged Him with 
blasphemy, because He, a man, made Himself God. He stated, 
in return : ' Is it not written in your law ' (Ps.lxxxii. where the refer- 
ence is to persons competent in virtue of their office to exercise 
rule and authority over others) ' I said, Ye are gods ? If he [or, 
it] called them gods unto whom the word of God came (*'. e. 
this declaration ' Ye are gods' ), and the Scripture cannot be 
broken, say ye of Him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent 
into the world, Thou blasphemest, because I said, I am the Son 
of God ? ' If the term God did not denote a relation, a relative 
existence, how could our Lord, who said : ' I ascend to my God,' 
be Himself called God in Holy Scripture ? and again, if called God 
Himself, how could He call the Father His God ? It will not do 
to say that Christ said this as man, and that He was not called 
God until after His Ascension. It was before His ascension that 
Thomas, under the overwhelming sense of the divine dignity which 
confronted him in the person of Jesus, exclaimed : ' My Lord and 
my God ! ' But Christ spoke of God as of His God, when He 
spoke of His ascension ; and yet He said : ' No man hath ascended 
up to Heaven, but He that came down from Heaven, even the Son 
of Man which is in Heaven . ' It was with reference to His nature 
and dignity, as the Image of the Glory of God, and to His intimate 
Union with God, that He testified concerning Himself : ' I and my 
Father are one ' ; but He regarded the Father in His Personal and 
all-embracing Being as different from Himself, both as the Cause 
of His own existence in human form, and as the Cause of His 
original existence as the Word with God, when He testified of Him, 
saying : ' My Father is greater than I.' The concept of God is there- 
fore a correlative term, indicating the reciprocal relation of Beings, 
and it is the true concept of God. But this concept of God leads 
to a Supreme Being, i. e. , to God, in the strictest acceptation of the 
term." 

Next in order we have to present Schonherr's notion of 
Duality. * 

' ' The existence of two original Beings does not conflict with the 
Unity of God either agreeably to reason or to Holy Scripture ; for 

* Die Schutzwehr, Konigsberg, 1834, p. 6. 



270 APPENDIX B. 

God-Being presupposes the reciprocal relation of Beings. A Being 
may be original, eternal, independent, and endowed with every 
attribute we can think of in order to raise it to the highest degree of 
exaltation, without being on that account God ; for so long as there 
is no other Being beside it, it is only a Being ; but God denotes a 
Being superior to other Beings. That Being, who among all Be- 
ings belonging to the universe, is the Supreme Being, and so re- 
lated to all other Beings as to exercise rule, power and authority 
over them, guiding and ruling them according to His Will, that 
Being is God. And this is in exact agreement with the sense Holy 
Scripture attaches to the phrase ' to be God,' for it represents God 
saying to Moses : ' He (z. e. Aaron) shall be thy spokesman unto the 
people ; and he shall be thy mouth and thou shalt be his God.' (This 
is agreeably to Luther's version ; the ' instead of of the A. V. 
cannot be regarded as a felicitous rendering of ?). If, then, we 
meet with the existence of two Beings, originally eternal and inde- 
pendent, as revealed in the world of creation, we are not by any 
means warranted to make it conflict with the Unity of God, for, in 
common with all believers of all time, the doctrine of the original 
Beings taught in Holy Scripture notwithstanding, we also find 
therein only ' the One true God.' 

' ' This One God * is the Supreme or Most High God, who can 
create whatsoever He wills, the stronger, and alone governing Orig- 
inal Being or Jehovah Elohim, to whom the weaker is always in- 
ferior both as to the design of their harmony (because two ruling 
centres must produce rupture, not union), and as to his inferior 
power, being as unable to increase his as God is unable to lessen 
His. Holy Scripture presents water as the formative matter, in 
which, and out of which, God rears the bright and fair temple of 
His sacred dwelling. 

" On this point Holy Scripture teaches the existence of only two 
Elohim, viz.: one Elohah as fire, and one Elohah as water, for 
these two are tincreated (Gen . i. 2); they go before Israel in the 
pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire (Ex. xiii. 21); they only ap- 
pear on Sinai (Ex. xix. 21), for the consuming fire was only in a 
dark cloud, which consists of water ; only two cherubim (a mani- 
fest instruction as to the number of the Original Beings) are placed, 

* Sieg der gottlicheti Offenbarung, pp. 30, 31 and passim. 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 27 1 

in token of the visible presence of the Elohim, over the ark of the 
covenant (Ex. xxv. 18), between them the Word speaks and an- 
swers ; it originates between them, as the Adonai. And what does 
this incarnate Word teach of the Elohim ? ' Except a man be born 
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God 
(St. John, iii. 3, 5). If a man be born of water and of the Spirit, 
he must originally consist only of water and of the Spirit ; and 
though the first man was made of the dust of the earth, the dust of 
the earth must originally consist of water, and on this account St. 
Peter declares that by the word of God the earth consisted of water 
and in water {kc, vdaroS uoci 6V vdaroS, 2 Pet. iii. 5). If at 
the end of the works of creation these Elohim, or the two Original 
Beings, cease to work in concert, Jehovah Elohim, *. e. the more 
potent one of these Original Beings, appears on a separate day of 
creation, succeeding the day in which the Elohim rested, alone, and 
begins not only a new formation of one man from the solid dust 
particles of the ground, but builds out of him his wife ; Jehovah 
Elohim alone plants a garden (before that, already some herbs of 
the field, which as yet were not in the earth), and causes the mist 
to ascend and the rain to fall. And as all these things prove His 
pre-eminent power, so He declares Himself at the time of the giving 
of the Law as God alone, although both the Original Beings under 
their name of Elohim are also present, and had before conversed 
with Moses, and though the inferior or weaker Elohah, as dark, 
was in the dark cloud, when the superior or stronger Elohah was in 
the midst of it, and so he was likewise present in the dark cloud in 
the pillar of fire and the pillar of cloud for the guidance and pro- 
tection of Israel. The creation, then, with its preservation, in- 
crease, perfection, and government, is the work of the stronger of 
the Original Beings, i. e. of God, or of the Jehovah of the Elohim." 

It would lead me altogether too far to reproduce here the 
very interesting testimony from nature which Schonherr ad- 
vances in support of this dualism, which runs through the 
whole universe and may be traced in every department of 
natural science ; a few hints in that direction must suffice as 
embodying principles and results : 

"Investigation shows that two original, i.e., uncreated, elements 



272 APPENDIX B. 

enter into the composition of everything created by means of a 
formative law. The two original, uncreated elements are : 1. 
Light and fire (identical as to essence, different only in expres- 
sion) ; and 2. Darkness or water (essentially identical). Earth and 
air are not original, but fire and water are ; whatever is created, 
animate or inanimate, mineral, vegetable, and animal, may be re- 
ferred to the primary, original, uncreated activity of fire and water, 
the two Elohim ; they are the only two simple or pi imary potencies or 
Beings ; all other existences are derived or complex. Light is an em- 
anation or effluence of fire, simple, not complex, incorporeal, spiritual 
(it is interesting to compare Schonherr's definition with the Milto- 
nian line, ' Bright effluence of bright essence increate '). Light is 
simple and spiritual — diffuses itself as the effluence of fire in radiat- 
ing form, in or through the original darkness, or, what amounts to 
the same thing, through water, like itself, spiritual. These two 
primary, original, uncreated Beings act and react each on the 
other, or in concert, and explain, beyond all contradiction or refuta- 
tion, the otherwise inexplicable phenomena of sound, color, figure, 
force, whatever is real, whatever is possible, every change and every 
effect in man or in nature." 

It will be admitted that the language of Gothe, who cer- 
tainly cannot be accused of religious fanaticism, runs almost 
parallel to Schonherr's, when he enunciates in his Farben- 
lehre the following : 

" Black, as the representative of darkness, leaves our organ in a 
state, of rest; white, as the representative of light, excites its ac- 
tivity " (p. 55). Color, he thinks, may be allegorically, symbolic- 
ally, or mystically explained as a sort of language of the primary 
conditions, adding: "Having first thoroughly grasped and exam- 
ined the separation of yellow and blue, and especially the greater 
intensity towards red, showing first the mutual inclination of two 
opposites and their union into a third, we cannot resist a certain 
mysterious intuition that these separate, opposite beings admit of a 
spiritual import ; and observing how they produce green down- 
wards and red upwards, explain the first as the earthly, the 
second as the heavenly products of the Elohim " (p. 227). In 
another place Gothe pronounces the view that all colors mixed 
together make white an absurdity, which, with many other absurd' 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 273 

ities, had been received as true for upwards of a century, in defi- 
ance of ocular evidence to the contrary ; and that he, for his part, 
felt convinced that color is the joint product of light and that which 
is opposed to it. Newton's doctrine he declared to possess only the 
appearance of being monodic and unitory, saying that he began 
with first charging his unity with the very diversity he sought to de- 
duce from it, whereas he (Gothe) held that it was better and easier 
to develop and construct diversity from an admitted duality (id. p. 
209, old edition). 

On the subject of the Word,* Schonherr takes the text, 
based on Rom. iv. 17; Psalm xxxiii. 6, and Heb. i. 3, " God 
calls to that which is not, that it be, and upholds (preserves) 
all things by the Word of His power." Sound was the be- 
ginning of Creation, sound is now everlasting, and will never 
end. God still creates and upholds all things by the Word 
of His power (St. John i. 1-4), and in the midst of the inces- 
sant operations and effects in the universe, God calls to that 
which is not yet formed, by the Word, that it spring into being. 
"By faith we understand that the ages, rov S ai<£>v at, are 
framed by the Word of God, so that things which are seen 
were not made of things which do appear." (Heb. xi. 3). 
This rather difficult verse Schonherr construes, following 
the original Greek rather than Luther's poor, daring and false 
rendering that the world was made out of nothing, thus : 
Whatever now, in time, appears to us as formed, became 
what it is from something which before had not appeared, 
and that imports, according to him, that the two primary 
Beings were at that time not yet reciprocally influencing each 
other, on that account there was not anything formed visible, 
but afterwards their united power, operating in or by the Word, 
produced what does or will appear. But Elohim are fire and 
water. What ? Are fire and water, if they act in concert, able 
to produce sound ? Can they speak ? Let those who do not 
know this read Exod. xx., where the Elohim (v, 1) out of the 



*See more on the Word, page 281. 



274 APPENDIX B. 

fire and the cloud, and Jehovah, or the consuming- fire- 
primary Being (v. 2,sqq.)from out of the midst of that cloud, 
proclaimed the Law from Mount Sinai to a multitude of six 
hundred thousand men ; or in Deuteronomy iv. and v., how 
often Moses reminded them of the speech of Jehovah out of 
the fire in the cloud at the giving of the Law. God spoke 
almost daily to Moses out of the pillar of cloud and the pillar 
of fire, and why should fire and water in concerted action be 
unable to produce sound, words and speech ? 

Very striking is the circumstance that throughout the his- 
tory of Creation, Moses presents the act of the Divine speech 
in the singular of the verb, while there is a plurality of per- 
sons (i. e. ipfcOWs the 3d per. sing., and DNT^K the nom- 
inative plural). Knowing that there are but two Elohim, 
we are warranted to conclude that they used but one speech. 
And here, where Moses narrates the first permanent act of 
these Elohim, i. e. the production of light by their speaking, 
seems to be proper place to explain the reason of his correct 
procedure. 

For if two Elohim, unequal in power, according to their 
motion in infinite space, come in contact, so that the stronger 
moves into the weaker, and the weaker moves toward the 
stronger (for equal powers of the Elohim would rebound from 
each other), and there ensues from the contact a reciprocal 
effect, their two different powers combine with one united 
power — and this united power of the two Elohim is the power 
of the Word, which in the beginning, at their first contact, 
at their first reciprocal effect, produced the one speech be- 
tween the two. 

In support of this position Schonherr now adduces the 
testimony of nature, of which I give a brief outline. Sound, 
this element of speech, if felt or heard, invariably requires 
more than one Being, one Power, one Body, in order to 
operate (produce an effect) and sound at the same time ; but 
one always operates on another, and produces vibration, or 
reciprocal motion. And this blending of the peculiar man- 
ner of sound in the one, with the peculiar manner of sound 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 275 

in the other is sound, or the simultaneous expression of their 
peculiar powers in reciprocal operation. Not a single in- 
stance can be pointed out to show that the greatest fire, the 
highest wave, or a projectile of the greatest velocity did ever 
produce a sound without resistance offered by something else. 
This is another proof of the necessary existence of more than 
one Primary Being, for the production of sound and speech, 
of the world and of creatures. One must always operate on 
the other, communicate its motion to it, and only by the 
power of the one, and the simultaneous commotion of the 
other offering resistance, sound is produced. This runs 
throughout nature. As every star in the light-track of its 
lofty course through the heavens speaks and sings, so every 
flower, every dust-particle on earth touched by its rays of 
light, makes response ; the flight of the birds answers the 
roaring of the sea ; the sap in plants, and liquids in animal 
organisms conducted by the light of life respond to the rush 
of fire-driven vapors in the clouds, and the whole animate 
creation is vocal with sound and song. 

Fire, the stronger, ever works within, and Water, the 
weaker, works around it in the clouds without; fire by itself, 
or water by itself has never emitted a sound ; alone, their 
speech has never been heard ; combined, they invariably 
produce sound, and all bodies formed of fire and water, 
always sound and resound by them, though their sound may 
not may not be heard by gross ears. Human speech and 
animal sounds mirror it forth. The efficient power of the 
outward object enters by means of light and darkness through 
the senses of the body, which is of dark water, into the soul, 
which is fire or light in the blood. The impressions from 
all the rays of the veins concentrate in the focus of the heart, 
under the reaction from all the ends of the ramified watery 
nerve-tree. Conformably to these impressions the fire and 
the water in the blood are brought into homogeneous rela- 
tion to the objects and bound in full flow to the lungs. Here 
they meet with resistance, they vibrate, i. e. t they impart 
motion to the lungs, the lungs in like manner impart it to 



276 APPENDIX B. 

the investing- air, produce and bring forth the inner word, and 
then the word analogous to the object, by means of the 
organs of speech, speeds to the humidity of the air, which is 
composed of columns of light or fire, and of darkness or 
water, and to the near objects (also of dark and light matter), 
which it percusses, and thus, as a word designating its object, 
it is heard by hearing beings. 

He then shows how fire is able to produce sound and 
therefore speech, by analyzing the phenomenon of lightning, 
the more homely one of water in a vessel placed over fire 
showing vibration and the emission of sound ; the sound of 
fire when it encounters resistance and causes the adjacent 
earth to tremble ; the sound of water as it gushes from the 
earth, and the roaring sound of ignited powder.* 

According to Schonherr Impenetrability in the Primal 
Essence is a foregone conclusion of Christian inquiry. The 
Bible speaks of a living, a real God ; the mere circumstance 
that in our conception of Him we cognize Him as operative 
and real, as a substance, does not render that conception 
material. The existence of God has, as it were, been evapo- 
rated into the idea of God, i. e., it has become a mere empty 
thought, a thought without all reality ; this has been for a 
long while the well-founded complaint of truly religious and 
thoughtful men. So far from dishonoring God, we glorify 
Him by making our conception of Him a reality. Power is 
the causal (ur-sachlicJi) or rather the primarily-essential {ur- 
wesentlich) ability of effect ( Wirkung) ; effect as an effluence 
or going out (motion) of power, involves a limitation of the 
same, while this limitation involves an impietion to be limited. 
Hence power, as primarily-essential, or self-impletion, is 
tantamount to self-existence, and because it is impossible 
that where it IS, there can be something else, it follows that 
its operative and, therefore, real being, or its essence, must 
be impenetrable. According to the Bible, then, God is the 
primarily essential power in self-impletion and limitation, 

* Grundziige der Erkenntniss, etc., p. 225, sqq. 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 2JJ 

that is, in space ; our God is real, and omnipresent, i. e., ex- 
istent (Ps. cxxxix. 7-10 ; Acts xvii. 27, 28). 

Schonherr admitted space and time only in a certain sense 
as conditions of presentative thought (z. e. so far as they 
respect the opposite inconceivable presumption of infinite 
space, and infinite, inconceivable time) ; he forbade all in- 
quiry outside the concepts of space and time. That which 
does not manifest itself within the limits of space and time, 
can not be the object of human inquiry. But we need not 
exceed those limits ; the divinely revealed word meets every 
demand within the full compass of its contents, for resting- on 
the visible and experimental in space and time, it satisfies to 
the full, and exhausts the spiritual wants of our nature. Out- 
side of space filled by the Primary Beings and of their opera- 
tive acts in the process of creation ( l¥erden=becommg) there 
is no province where man can seek or find anything. Revela- 
tion, though it takes us not beyond those confines, leads us 
nevertheless to the profundities of the Godhead (1 Cor. ii. 10).* 

THE LIMITS OF THOUGHT. 

We have a book, called the Bible, composed of two rec- 
ords, an older and a newer, containing revelations of God, 
from which is derived our knowledge of Him. The more 
ancient document begins with the creation which took place 
in the beginning, but gives us no account of anything prior 
to that beginning ; we are consequently unable to know any- 
thing of the Being and operations of the Deity prior to that 
beginning, for reason cannot enlighten us on this head, and 
we are without a divine revelation which could. If the record 
testifies that the heavens and the earth were created in the 
beginning, it imports that this occurred before the beginning 
of time, for the work of the creation marks the beginning of 
time. Before that beginning was eternity — i. e., ever-during 
existence, which cannot be computed, cannot be understood. t 

* Ebel, Schliissel, etc. pp. 19-21. 

fOpitz, Lichtin der Dunkelheit, etc., p. 6, sqq. Leipzig, 1821. 



278 APPENDIX B. 



ETERNITY, OLAM, iEON.* 

[The Scripture quotations do not conform verbally to 
Luther's or to the Authorized Versions. The Hebrew words 
?K, u?)V, etc, and the Greek words at gov, aioovio?, are for 
greater convenience given in English letters.] 

" If I consult the Bible, I hear indeed that the Supreme 
Spirit says of Himself : 'Before me no God (El) was formed, 
neither shall there be after me ' (Is. xliii. 10) ; 'I am the 
first and the last, and beside me no Elohim ' (xliv. 6) ; ' I 
am the Lord, and there is none else, and no God except I* 
(xlv. 5) ; dam the Lord that doeth all these things ' (v. 7) ; 
'The heavens are my throne, and the earth is my footstool ; 
. . all those things hath mine hand made ; and all those 
things have come into being ' (lxvi. 1, 2,) convincing me 
that the Speaker is the Great God, the Creator of the world, 
who cannot have had a beginning, and must always have 
been existing, but I do not find that the Bible says of Him : 
He is Eternal. In neither Testament can be found a word 
answering to the concept of eternal (everlasting) importing 
that something will not only exist forever, but that it has al- 
ways existed, and has had no beginning, for Olam in the Old 
Testament, and Aion in the New, do not ca^ry that sense. 
Attending to the sense of those words in the following places, 
I find that my conviction is well grounded : ' In that day will 
I. . . I will build it as in the days of Olam ' (Amos ix. 1 1) ; 
' Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of Olam * 
(Mic. vii. 14) ; « The offering . . . shall be pleasant unto the 
Lord, as in the days of Olam, and as in former years ' (Mai. 
iii. 4) ; 'from Olam to Olam"* (Ps. ciii. 17) ; or 'continuous 
generations ' (Luke i.50) ; ' before the days of Olam ' (Mic. v. 1); 
' in the Olamim ' (Eccl. i. 10) ; ' man goeth to the house of his 
Olam' (xii. 5). ' All the land which thou seest, to thee will 
I give it, and to thy seed,' not 'forever,' but ' unto Olam '(Gen. 

*Opitz, Lichtin der Dunkelheit, etc. pp. 6, 10. Leipzig v 1821. 



NOTICE OF SCHONIIERR. 279 

xiii. 15) ; and in Ch. xvii. 8, not 'for an everlasting posses- 
sion,' but ' as long as this Olam (this world) lasteth.' " 

The Scriptures manifestly attach to the words Olam and 
Aion a sense different from that of time in general, or of 
eternity, for days and years cannot be predicated of eternity, 
and eternities, like eternal times, are unthinkable. Olam, 
Aion, and Aionios do not meaner se either time or eternity, 
and it is inconceivable that two such different and opposite 
terms as time and eternity should be expressed in Hebrew 
and Greek by one word, denoting in turn time and eternity. 
There is neither in German, nor in English, a single word by 
which the true idea of the word could be adequately expressed, 
for the word, though it does not signify either time or eter- 
nity, is ambiguous. Olam and Aion not only signify that 
which has come into being (become, geworden), but also the 
duration of it, which, agreeably to the nature and end of the 
same, viz., in respect of what it has become, and why, may 
be short, long, or for ever. The connection and context of 
every passage in which they occur determines their meaning 
(notat integrant cujus rei, de qua ser?no est, durationem; 
Coccejus). Now, the first thing that became, the whole con- 
sisting of several parts, is the great Olam, i. e., the heavens 
and the earth, which the Elohim created in the beginning. 
Now, since the great Olam, which became in the beginning, 
(J. e. the heavens and the earth), consists of many parts, intended 
to be the abode of spirits, and agreeably to that intention in- 
vested with the property of duration, the Bible speaks of 
Olamim and Aions in the plural, i. e. of regions, worlds, and 
durations. " Is there anything whereof it may be said, see, 
this is new ? it hath been in the Olamim," (in the durations, 
Eccl. i. 10) ; "I have considered the days from the beginning, 
the years of the Olamim" (Psalms lxxvii. 6) ; " By faith we 
understand that the Aions (ages) have been framed by the 
word of God," and that " the Aions (ages) were made by the 
Son " (Heb. xi. 3 ; i. 2), the wisdom of God which had been 
hidden, and foreordained "from (before) the Aions" (1 Cor. 
ii. 7) ; and to God Himself is ascribed, 1 Tim. i. 17, as "to 



280 APPENDIX B. 

the incorruptible king of the Aions (worlds), the invisible, 
only wise(?) God, honor and glory (not " for ever and ever " 
but) " unto the Aions of the Aions," (i. e. throughout all the 
durations). 

Man, like any other rational creature, destined to exist 
always, passes, before he attains salvation (i Thess. v. 9) 
through two Aions. During the first time of his existence his 
abode is in the present world, which is his first Aion ; if 
death removes him therefrom, he passes into the second 
Aion, the future world, or as it is expressed Eccl. xii. 5, " into 
the house of his Olam "; there are thus for us two Aions, the 
present and the future, Matt, xxviii. 20 ; Mark x. 30 ; 1 Tim. 
vi. 17 ; 2 Tim. iv. 10; Luke xvi. 8 ; xx. 34, 35. A new Aion 
begins with the resurrection and appearing of the Judge of 
the world, and who can tell the number of the coming Aions 
to the establishment of the kingdom of God ? Hence the 
Aions of Aions, or the many successive originations and du- 
rations. 

Now, since Olam denotes not only that which has become, 
but also its duration, I understand the import of the Scrip- 
tural declaration to the Israelites : " this shall be to you a right 
in Olam," according to the rendering, an eternal right, an 
eternal continuance, i. e., as long as this Olam, which has 
been instituted {geworden, become) amongst you, as long as 
this your prescribed mode of worship shall endure — and it 
did endure until Christ came with the Gospel, and prepared 
thereby the new way — so. long shall this right and this cove- 
nant remain in operation, and be obligatory on you and your 
descendants. 

I feel convinced that the word eternal (ewig) in our sense 
is not wanted in the Bible, which begins with the creation, 
but in the description thereof does not go beyond the great 
Olam, and reveals nothing of the existence and operation of 
the Great Spirit before Olam, and therefore it has no use for 
the word eternal {ewig). 

I might add that the concept eternal is incompatible with 
our finite understanding ; we say indeed, by way of defini- 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 28 1 

tion, that that which has no beginning and no end is eternal, 
but we cannot think it. The moment we attempt to think it, 
and go backward or forward into ever-during Being or Exist- 
ence, our thoughts vanish, and our thinking must cease, be- 
cause we cannot think of anything without beginning and 
without end. Our understanding can only think of time, and 
of that which began with, and continues in it, not that which 
cannot be defined or computed by time. 

THE ORIGIN OF EVIL. 

This dualism, as unfolded by Schonherr, sheds light on the 
perplexing question of the origin and existence of evil. The 
difficulties of the question are tersely put by Ebel :* " What 
are we to make of the weeds and the enemy that sows them ? '' 
Do the enemy and his work come from God ? Does a 
fountain yield sweet and bitter ? If sin be defection from 
God, to whom and for whom does He give laws? Whom 
does He teach, punish, judge ? Himself? Or is evil simply 
illusory and not real ? How are we to reconcile the unde- 
niable reality of evil with the divine attributes of omnipo- 
tence, omniscience, love and justice, unless we admit the 
existence of potential evil outside of God ? What was to 
prevent an omnipotent God to create perfect creatures ? 
Where is His wisdom if He did not create them ? Is it 
wisdom intentionally to introduce an innumerable host ol 
disorders and corruptions into His works, and then from ab- 
horrence of them exert all His power to vanquish them ? 
Would that not be a horrible play with innocent creatures ? 
Would it not exhibit God contradicting Himself in His dispo- 
sition and ends of government ? 

The only solution of this otherwise inexplicable and in- 
comprehensible riddle lies in the acceptation of the Biblical 
statement that there is an Originator of Evil, the prince of 
this world ruling in the darkness of this world (St. John xiv. 
30 ; Eph. vi. 12); and of the duality and real operativeness 

* Verstand und Vemunft, part 2, p. 62, sqq. 



282 APPENDIX B. 

of the primary Beings, in order that God, the Lord, be not 
charged with sin and blasphemed as the author of sin and 
death ; and that man may courageously go forth to battle 
with evil, which entered the world without the instrumen- 
tality and fault of God (although He allowed it), in expectation 
of ultimate deliverance from its thraldom, as well of its abso- 
lute destruction, whenever in God's own good time it can be 
done without injury to the good (St. Matth. xiii. 29, 30). 
Schonherr is at special pains to separate the second primary 
Being from the cause of the existing incongruity in creation. 
It was not an obscuring of the consciousness of the second 
primary Being, but the disturbance of the just reciprocal 
causality, and on that account he gave the utmost promi- 
nence to the behests of the Divine Will in all our relations, 
e. g., the necessary supremacy of the spirit over the flesh. 
He holds that the resistance and opposition of the enemy to 
the sacred, fundamental laws of God, is the true cause of sin 
and evil in the world ; while its conquest and destruction are 
assigned to the reconciling power of the Saviour, the Son of 
God, who " was manifested that He might destroy the works 
of the devil" (1 John iii. 8). 

THE KINGDOM OF GOD. 

Schonherr's conception of it is strictly Biblical, and pre- 
sents it as a life under and in God, according to the degree of 
spiritual development, and of personal consciousness. The 
children of God are to be found in true obedience and true 
love only where the Father is known, who has begotten us 
after His own image. According to his representation the 
whole of creation is clearly cognized as truly and really liv- 
ing, moving and being, otit of the breath of God, through 
the power of God, and in the Spirit of God, and God Himself 
truly all-penetrating or pervading the whole ; and the King- 
dom of God is that condition of man and of the whole 
creation in which — 1st. The ends of God are perfectly at- 
tained without the least obstruction or disturbance; and 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 283 

2d. All creatures capable of it will, under His influence and 
government, enjoy the development of their powers and un- 
mingled happiness.* 

THE PERSON OF THE GOD-MAN CHRIST JESUS. 

The concept " Word " or " Logos n imports : 

1. A living, active, operative, efficient existence {Sein) 
in God ; for " all things were made through Him, and without 
Him was not anything made that is made." (John i. 3). 

2. An existence founded in God, necessitated by the exist- 
ence of God, or, an existence founded in the manifestation of 
the existence of the Essence (Substance) of God, revealing 
(before the creation of the world) energizing activity, to which 
Christ reverts, as to " the glory He had with the Father be- 
fore the world was" (John xvii. 5). 

3. A determinating existence begotten of God for the pur- 
pose of creation, or, an existence so far modified as to ener- 
gizing activity as to involve the springing into being ( Werden, 
becoming) of all things at the creation of the world ; In this 
respect Christ is called " the first-born of all creation '' 
" through whom all things were made," and are preserved, 
for God upholdeth all things by the Word of His power (Heb. 
i. 3 ; Col. i. 17; John i. 3), Who is the effulgence of His 
glory, and the very image of His substance. 

The Primal Word, accordingly, is confluent with the sub- 
stance of God, and must not be regarded as substantiality 
separate from Him, and the creative Word not as a creature 
but as the first-born. Schonherr distinguishes the creative 
Word from the Primal Word on scriptural authority, for the 
Bible names the First-born (arpordrcwos) and the Only 
Begotten (jiovoy£vr}<£). 

Such an explanation is neither prejudicial to the Deity, nor 
to the eternal nature of the Only Begotten, and affords like- 
wise a view of His Incarnation in the fulness of time, in per- 

* Ebel, Schliissel, p. 80. 



284 APPENDIX B. 

feet accord with Holy Scripture (" for in Him dwelleth all the 
fulness of the Godhead bodily," Col. ii. 9) ; for, provided the 
Nature of the Logos be conceived after this manner, it is not 
at all difficult to harmonize the declarations of Christ and 
His apostles on this head.* 

Nor does this view of the case involve us in any of the nu- 
merous contradictions in respect of the human nature of 
Christ, of which the history of the Church chronicles so many 
details. The mutual communication of the two natures in 
Christ becomes self-evident after we have gained a clear idea 
as to what constitutes a person, the Ego. The German word 
for consciousness, " Bewusstsein," recognizes, according to 
Ebel, the duality of the ultimate, i. e. the primary, reason of 
it, it carries a dual sense derivatively, viz., Sein, to be or be- 
ing, and bewusst, conscious or knowing ; i. e. a being, and 
the knowing of it, implying a dualism stamped on every law of 
thought ; for to be and to know are separate and distinct from 
one another, and presuppose in created beings a duality which 
enters into and coincides with our person into a unity. 

Man cognizes his individuality only by support on another 
object. Without such support he would, as a merely spiritual 
being (as a singular (z. e. individual) being without support), 
dissolve in the substratum of his soul-life into the All j it is 
only through support on another that his own being (existence) 
leaves the general being, peculiar, distinct and individual, and 
according to the measure of his endowments and their de- 
velopment, with a growing consciousness (Bewusst2£/m&?#), 
which by means of the co-operating energy of his powers 
through the will, gradually rises into being conscious 
(Bewusst-s^zVz), and forms individuality (Personlichheit), dis- 
tinguished by self-determination and self-consciousness, the 
possession of which imparts to the Ego its perfect reality. 

But it is not so in the case of the consciousness of the Ab- 
solute Spirit, wherein the conditions of cognizing Himself co- 
incide with the unconditioned Essence circling within Itself, 

* Schutzwehr, p. 7, sqq. ; Schliissel, pp. 122-124. 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 28<> 

and in as far as Christ is essentially One with the Father, He 
could speak of the glory He had with Him before the world 
was, and in this respect, He had a Being absolutely founded 
in God and determined through the same. His Divinity is 
indubitable. 

But alike indubitable is his true humanity, for in that there 
showed itself in Him a determining Being, He entered the 
rank of persons of our visible world, He became flesh, and 
thereby an individual, and His Divinity in so far conditioned, 
that its revelation appeared dependent on external relations, 
especially in the development of the indwelling divine nature 
agreeably to the law of sequence in time ; hence He increased 
(or advanced) in wisdom (Luke ii. 52) ; and not until He was 
baptized by John did the fulness of the Holy Spirit descend 
upon Him to abide upon Him, just as He was not glorified 
with the glory which He had with God before the world was, 
until after He had tasted death for us (John xvii. 5). 

So far from regarding the mutual communication of the two 
natures in the Person of the Saviour as a mutual limitation, 
the relation may be presented after this manner : the First- 
born, who is at the same time the Only-born ; the Word which 
was in the beginning, appears as at first in His operation, so 
afterwards at His coming into the visible order of things, 
accepted the condition of earthly existence in such wise that 
the primal consciousness of His Divinity was neither dis- 
turbed nor suspended, and that it was only the Man Christ 
Jesus (whom God, His God, had anointed with the oil of 
gladness above His fellows, Heb. i. 2), in whom the fulness 
of the Godhead dwelt bodily."* 

It is exceedingly difficult to do justice in precise terms, 
without circumlocution, to these profound abstractions, 
which are mainly given for the purpose of marking their 
originality. Their further development and analysis, and 
comment upon them, would lead me too far. 

The following passage is very striking : 

* Schliissel, etc., pp. 124-127. 



286 APPENDIX B. 

' ' Through the vast space of the universe (out of the fulness of the 
energizing activity of the united Primal Powers agreeably to the 
will and pleasure of the Sole Creator and Lord of heaven and earth 
according to the original law of operation) the developments of be- 
ing are at work, and as does the heavenly host in the invisible re- 
gions of the world, so likewise does the countless multitude of differ- 
ent creatures pervade all the reahns of nature, culminating in man 
as the fulcrum of their full co-operation. Everything under the same 
law, everything in constant development of being, everything moved 
and engaged in dualism. It is characteristic of time, in its process of 
germination and development, that all the sciences, and all the 
directions in which the mind of man travels, ultimately commingle. 
And may we not identify the red thread that runs through them ? 
Inquiring into the history of the development of the earth-body, 
we found at first a period of dead matter without form and life in a 
rude metallic mass ; in a second period it took form, and law f et- 
ered it in crystalline combinations ; in a third it became obedient 
to vegetative life ; plants covered the surface and unconscious ani- 
mals animated the waters ; in a fourth period the vegetative life 
developed into animal life, and animals endowed with the capa- 
bility of joy and sorrow were eagerly occupied with the further 
refinement of matter by changing the substance of plants into 
their bodies. In the fifth period the intellectual life of man be- 
gan to develop its power in the conquest of matter, the subjuga- 
tion of the elements, the enslaving of living creatures, in order to 
gather the intellectual harvest in a sixth period, we will say that 
which began with the art of printing, into a unit. Thus the 
earth-body is only a seed-bed, in which the pleasant heritage of 
man luxuriates, and the history of nature is only the history of 
progressive victories of mind over matter. This is the fundamental 
thought of creation, for the attainment of which individuals and 
entire generations are made to disappear, raising the present on the 
scaffolding of an immense past." * 

In the same connection may be read : 



* Schliissel, etc., pp. 193, 194, and citing Baer, Ueber das allgemeine 
Gesetz der Entwickelungsgeschichte der Natur, Konigsberg, 1834. 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 287 

" So schauet mit bescheid'nem Blick 
Der ewigen Weberin Meisterstuck, 
Wie ein Tritt tausend Faden regt, 
Die Schifflein hinuber, herliber schiessen, 
Die Faden sich begegnend fliessen, 
Ein Schlag tausend Verbindungen schlagt. 
Das hat sie nicht zusammengebettelt ; 
Sie hat's von Ewigkeit angezettelt ; 
Damit der ewige Meistermann 
Getrost den Einschlag werfen kann." 

Gothe, Zur Morphologie, I., p. 113. 

SPIRIT, SOUL AND BODY. 

According to 1 Thess. v. 23, we must distinguish between 
spirit, soul and body. In the soul the Primal Beings work 
united, and it is the Ego which dominates both in the forma- 
tive law of our birth, and in the subsequent choice we make 
of the use of the divine provision for our proper education, 
both of soul and body — that is, in our regeneration. 

Spirit denotes the dominant, quickening or impelling 
principle in man ; it is of divine origin (Gen. ii. 7), and the 
Scripture calls those who submit to the government of the 
Spirit of God Ttvev/ianxoi (spiritual); while those who 
do not submit are called ipvxixoi (natural) and in their 
lowest degradation dapxixoi (carnal). Yet it is not the 
body as such that induces those states ; all depends the 
rather on the inward direction which the individual gives to 
his heart, which in the Scriptures is regarded as the centre 
of the soul, the determining faculty, as it were, of the soul, 
marking, according to the choice he makes, the character of 
the individual, as spiritual or carnal. This is brought out in 
Rom. vii. 22, 23, where the soul, i. e. the Ego, in process of 
becoming (werdend) is placed between the law in the mind 
(z. e. the law of the Spirit) and the law in the members (z. e. 
the law in the flesh) moved or influenced by one or the other, 
until the Holy Spirit (the Spirit of Him that raised up Christ 
from the dead, and thereby established a new principle of 



288 APPENDIX B. 

life becomes dominant ; and we are led by Him as the 
children of God (viii. 14), so that the apostle preached on that 
account and as a natural and necessary consequence the 
regeneration of the body (v. 11) through the power of the 
Risen Christ, as being truly the restoration of man conform- 
ably to the image of Him who has called us to glory and 
virtue.* 

Schonherr, says Ebel in a note (p. 203), was wont to dis- 
tinguish the men of the sixth day from the descendants of 
Adam (see Gen. iv. 14-17 ; vi. 1, sqq). The former he calls 
Elohim-mzn, the latter Jehovah-men, because of the divine 
breath (7tvev/ua) which distinguished them. The inferior 
race was designed to be elevated and improved by the 
superior, but sin having come in, drew down the pneumatic 
race into the soulish region, and the destruction by means of 
the flood was necessary, in order to make room for a new 
planting. 

A very interesting and able contribution to the trichotomic 
distinction of the nature of man is found in Klaiber, Die Neu- 
testamentliche Lehre von der SiXnde und Erlosung, Stutt- 
gart, 1836, p. 22, sqq. 

REGENERATION.! 

The creative elements, according to the Bible, are engaged 
in our regeneration. Hence Schonherr says : 

" Jesus commanded the baptism with water, and baptizes at the 
same time with the Holy Spirit and with fire, to teach us that as 
originally we became out of fire and water, and, in our corrupt state, 
so we may be born anew, and be wholly restored out of the two, 
the independent Elohim, and their Word of instruction. It is the 
power of the Most High, which (in the Holy Spirit) comes over 
man, uttering light into the darkness of his natural being, and 
depositing in him the germ of the new life, of the noble graft from 

* Schlussel, pp. 196-198, Appendix A. The Great Change, Part II. 
f Ida v. d. Groben, Die Liebe zur Wahrheit, pp. 292-297 passim. 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 289 

the heart of Paradise above, unto the resurrection of the new life ; 
with this difference between the new creation and the first, that in 
the latter the creature is called into existence without its conscious- 
ness,' whereas in the former, the creature is both conscious and 
co-operative. . . . 

" When the first drawings of the love of God prompt the yearning 
within us to live forever in its element— when under the breathing 
of Life the new life germinating, tender as yet though resolute, 
eagerly' aspires to the anticipated liberty, in order to live forever 
(Matth. xvi. 24, 25) — that is the time of visitation and preparation 
for free choice. 

" Man, in the bright beams of divine mercy, begins to take delight 
in the law of God after the inner man (Rom. vii. 22), and seeks the 
light, exulting in the joy of his heavenly calling, for the Lord is 
his Light, and makes his darkness light. But sin as yet holds him 
bound through the law in his members, until (sincere Christians 
know this progress) in the extremity of the struggle between hostile 
assaults and the yearning for deliverance, the only hope of suc- 
cessful transition from death to life lies in grasping the power of 
God. ... As the light shining into his natural darkness taught 
him to be afraid of himself, so love holding up before his heart the 
indelible image of its holiness, inspires him with longing for 
it. This is the moment in which it is said, ' Draw nigh to God, 
and He draws nigh to you ' (Jas. iv. 8), and then faith comes in, 
with firm confidence concerning that which we hope, and without 
doubt concerning that which we do not see ; even faith in the grace 
of God, and the cheerful surrender of our will to the will of God. 

' ' How little man's fidelity in this the natal hour of his will unto 
liberty deserves to be called a free act, is evident from the fact that 
in this his turning to God, so far from being conscious of actual 
willing, and still less of ability, he is conscious only of his inability 
to deliver himself from his deadness ; and while under the billows 
of darkness and death he reaches for a rope of deliverance — like 
one apparently dead moves in order to be able to move — dreading 
the worst but for the cheering assurance of the mercy of God, who 
does not break the bruised reed or quench the dimly burning wick 
(Is. xlii. 3) . . . he is supported and strengthened with cheer- 
ful consolation, patiently and courageously to endure the pangs of 
his regeneration (2 Cor. vii. 10). . . . 
13 



29O APPENDIX B. 

"Asa sleeper is wont to be near waking, when, he dreams that he 
dreams, so morning begins to dawn in the case of the spiritual 
sleeper, when he begins to grow aware of the sleep that lies upon 
his spiritual life ; he is near his deliverance, when the chains of his 
sins cause him pain, and his great sickness turns into self-accusation. 
Nevertheless, God is near him, but according to the law of essential 
reciprocity, operating not less in the individual than in the whole — 
man must in the struggles of the hour of the travail of his spiritual 
life, assert himself. It is the will of God that man look up and 
seek Him objectively, and love Him in return." 

HEAVEN AND HELL.* 

The law of thought is simple. It runs thus : similars go 
together, dissimilars do not go together, according to this 
formula : + a and + b make a sum, but + a and — b a dif- 
ference ; what comes together is united, what does not come 
together is separated. So likewise the eternal law of thought. 
According to it God judges on earth, as in heaven, and will 
judge in the last day ; according to this law heaven and hell 
are thinkable and real. The positive a, the Godhead, really 
looks on the negative b, sinful man f (collectively), in mercy 
and grace, and according to His wonderful Power, effects 
really that a — b become like a + b, become, not are. The 
miracles of God are effects not inconceivable, not impossible, 
but more than possible, transcending human power. There- 

* Diestel, Ursache und Wirkung auch im Bereich des Glaubens. 
Konigsberg, 1835, p. 105, sqq. 

f In order to avoid a dangerous misapprehension it is proper to 
remark, what to those familiar with arithmetical processes is of 
course superfluous, that 

1. The negation inheres in b, and is not made to adhere by a : 
God is not the Tempter to evil ; he does not tempt any man. 

2. The sign minus (the negation in b) does not cancel b, but 
denotes the character of b ; b is not canceled (negates), but cancel- 
ing (negating) ; sin is not as it were, the absence of good, but the 
presence of evil. 



NOTICE OF SCHONHERR. 29I 

fore it is wrong, and a dreadful error to say that + a — b = 
a + b ; for the negation b is not absolute (the assumption 
would be nonsensical), but relative, a negation as to a ; en- 
mity against God. This negation God cancels (He has 
placed in us the word of reconciliation, 2 Cor. iii. 19) ; the 
— b is changed, metamorphosed, reconciled, delivered from 
the negation, freed from sin, and becomes + b ; with the re- 
sult that + a + b = a + b. But where the negation remains 
there remains the difference ; and where the difference be- 
comes real, and the operation is finished, where the positive 
a meets the negative b, the positive a is the more potent 
negation of the negative b ; then God is a consuming fire, 
that the ungodly suffer punishment, the everlasting destruc- 
tion from the face of the Lord and from His glorious power. 
The terrestrial laws of thought are eternal on earth : a + b 
is a sum, and a — b a difference ; and so likewise in the 
world to come a + b the sum, the together, heaven ; a — b 
the difference, separation, hell. 



CONSCIOUSNESS CONTINUES AFTER DEATH. * 

" The consciousness of our dead," said Schonherr of those who 
are asleep in the Lord, "cannot cease, because the remaining, fixed, 
imperishable parts of the perishable body exist indestructible and 
cannot pass away, and further because the law affecting departed 
souls is grounded on the imperishable formation of thoughts, words 
and actions, which previously during this earthly life did already 
exist along with the complements, as the permanent, firm formation 
of the two Primal Beings. This firm, imperishable, and immediate 
spirit-product, which during the earthly life had the ability to think 
and speak, which ability it also retains, because it was formed ac- 
cording to this law, is and remains both the germ and support of 
the soul, as an immortal spirit-nature, and as the same conditions 
of consciousness continue, it follows that in connection with the 
spirit it retains consciousness." 

* Ebel, Philosophic der heiligen Urkundc, iii., p. 111. 



292 APPENDIX B. 

INFERENCES.* 

Most solemn are the inferences bearing on morals which 
naturally and necessarily flow from the doctrine of the two 
Primal Beings, with the fullest recognition of the Gospel truth 
that eternal life must needs begin on earth, in order that con- 
summation and perfection may be realized in the world to come 
(John vi. 40, 54). The life of a true Christian infolds the still 
closed germ of a glorious future, but, on the other hand, all 
whose eyes are closed in death, cannot be called blessed. By 
means or out of faith, laying hold of the righteousness of 
Christ, we are restored to the faith and righteousness accepted 
of God — and with this is given the luminous centre of the new 
life, the sanctifying principle of regeneration, which becomes 
manifest at the turning point of death. But though the word 
of faith is not preached to all men, and consequently all men 
are not placed in such a decisive state of conscious accounta- 
bility to be either saved or condemned, it is nevertheless not 
inconceivable that the condition of a filial, confiding surrender 
to the Supreme Being, of a yielding to the attraction of a 
presiding power and love enchaining a transforming influence 
of their nature, should operate upon the individual members 
of a race living, moving and having its being in God, ena- 
bling them according to their degree of accountability, to up- 
build in their hearts heaven or hell even this side the grave. 
"Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, 
for they shall be filled" (Matth. v. 6). 

* Ebel, Schliissel, etc., p. 238. 



APPENDIX C. 



HYMNS. 

JESUS, MEIXE LIEBE, LEBET. 

1. Jesus, meine Liebe, lebet, 
Dem es ist so wohl gelungen, 
Dass der Feind nun vor ihm bebet, 
Und der Tod im Sieg verschlungen ; 
Er, mein Heil, ist wieder Licht, 
Der im Grabe lag verbleichet, 
Aber jetzt der Sonne gleichet, 

Mit verklartem Angesicht. 

2. Einen hoffnungsvollen Blick, 
Und ein unverganglich Wesen, 
Bringt mir diese Sonn' zurlick, 
Und giebt mir ein Wort zu lesen : 
Dass die Glieder, ihrem Haupt, 
Gleich im Leben, gleich im Sterben, 
Gleiches Leben sollen erben, 
Dessen sie zuvor beraubt. 

3. Liebe, starker als der Tod, 
Du giebst klare Siegeszeichen, 
Machst den Feind zum Friedensbot', 
Lass't den Tod zum Heil gereichen ; 
Derm vde sollt' zur Sterbenszeit 
Mich, die Botschaft konnt' erschrecken, 
Die mir sagt von Auferwecken, 
Nichts von Todes-Bitterkeit. 

293 



294 APPENDIX C. 

4. Sehet nicht auf die Gestalt ! 
Dieser Tod ist nur ein Schlafen : 
Kein Feind hat nun mehr Gewalt 
An den wiederfundnen Schafen ; 
Denn der auferstandne Hirt, 
Der sich selbst fiir sie gegeben, 
Fi'ihrt sie durch den Tod zum Leben, 
Wo er ewig triumphirt. 

5. Bringt man mich dem Grabe zu, 

Das du, Lebens-Sonn', durchscheinest 
So komm' ich zur siissen Ruh, 
Da du dich mit mir vereinest. 
Wenn du nun die Stimm' erhebst, 
So wird dies mein Fleisch ervvachen, 
Denn du wirst es lebend machen, 
Und mich bringen, wo du lebst. 

6. Komm, mein Hirte, filhre mich ! 
Liebe ! gieb, dass ich dich schmecke. 
Sonne ! lass mich sehen dich, 

Dass der Tod mich nicht erschrecke ; 
Ftihrst du mich zum Leben hin, 
Gieb dass ich dir folgen moge, 
Durch die dir beliebten Wege, 
Bis ich ewig bei dir bin. 



jesus meine ZUVER3ICHT. (Easter Hymn). 
Written by Louise, Electress of Brandenburg. 



Jesus meine Zuversicht, 
Und mein Ffeiland ist mein Leben, 
Dieses weiss ich, sollt' ich nicht 
Darum mich zufrieden geben ? 
Was die lange Todes-Nacht 
Mir audi fur Gedanken macht. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 

2. Jesus, der mein Heiland, lebt, 

Ich werd' auch das Leben schauen, 
Sein, wo mein Erloser schwebt, 
Warum sollte mir dann grauen ? 
Lasset auch ein Haupt sein Glied, 
Welches es nicht nach sich zieht? 

3. Ich bin durch der Hoflnung Band 
Zu genau mit ihm verbunden, 
Meine starke Glaubenshand 
Wild in ihn gelegt befunden, 
Dass mich auch kein Todesbann 
Ewig von ihm trennen kann. 

4. Ich bin Fleisch, und muss daher 
Auch einmal zu Aschen werden, 
Das gesteh' ich, doch wird er 
Mich erwecken aus der Erden, 
Dass ich in der Herrlichkeit 
Um ihn sein mog' alle Zeit. 

5. Dann wird eben diese Haut 
Mich umgeben,wie ich glaube ; 
Gott wird werden angeschaut, 
Wann ich aufsteh' aus dem Staube. 
Und in diesem Fleisch werd' ich 
Jesum sehen ewiglich. 

6. Dieser meiner Augen Licht 
Wird Ihn meinen Heiland kennen, 
Ich, ich selbst, kein Fremder nicht, 
Werd' in seiner Liebe brennen ; 
Nur die Schwachheit um und an 
Wird von mir sein abgethan. 

7. Was hie kranket, seufzt und fleht, 
Wird dort frisch und herrlich gehen, 
Irdisch werd' ich ausgesat, 
Himmlisch werd' ich auferstehen. 



295 



296 APPENDIX C. 

Hier geh' ich natiirlich ein, 
Nachmals werd' ich geistlich sein. 

8. Seid getrost und hoch erfreut, 
Jesus tragt euch, meine Glieder ! 
Gebt nicht Statt der Traurigkeit, 
Sterbt ihr, Christus ruft euch wieder, 
Wann die letzt' Posaun erklingt, 
Die auch durch die Graber dringt. 

9. Lacht der finstren Erden-Kluft, 
Lacht des Todes und der Hollen, 
Denn ihr sollt euch durch die Luft 
Eurem Heiland zugesellen ; 

Dann wird Schwachheit und Verdruss 
Liegen unter eurem Fuss. 

10. Nur dass ihr den Geist erhebt 
Von den Liisten dieser Erden, 
Und euch dem schon jetzt ergebt, 
Dem ihr beigefugt sollt werden. 
Schickt das Herze dahinein, 
Wo ihr ewig wiinscht zu sein, 



POEMS. 

From the Morgenwache, 
by Ida, Grafin von der Groben. 

I. 

ERFULLUNG. 
(Fulfilment, a Christmas Hymn, written 1847.) 

Is. IX. 6, 7. 
1. Nimmer soil es sein vergessen — 
Wenn die Finsternisse pressen — 
Was zu Bethlehem geschehen, 
Als Gott liess den Stern aufgehen. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 297 

Zwiefach in der Knechtschaft Banden, 
Fremdling in den eignen Landen, 
Schien dem Volk, so hoch erkoren, 
Die Verheissung fast verloren, — 
Da ward ihm ein Kind geboren. 

2. Oh audi alle Heiden toben, 
Ob die Juden Steine hoben, 
Ihre Zeit war langst gemessen ; 
Der im Himmel ist gesessen, 
Spottet ihrer von der Hohe 
Und bedroht sie in der Nahe ; 
Doch dem Volk in dessen Herzen 
Seine Kripp' und Sterneskerzen — 
Diesem heisst es Wunderbar. 

3. Wunder ist ihm sein Erretten 
Aus des eis'gen Zweifels Ketten ; 
Wunder sind ihm seine Wege, 
Seine schmalen, steilen Stege, 
Dass die Seinen, aller Enden 
Sich da zu einander fanden, — 
Mitten durch der Feinde Mauern, 
Die von beiden Seiten lauern, — 
Denn der Retter heisset Rath. 

4. Ob zur Rechten, ob zur Linken 
Die verschied'nen Geister winken, 
Es dem Gleise zu entriicken, 
Und mit Dunkelheit zu driicken ; 
Ob sich drangen Schreckgewalten, 
Rathselvolle Truggestalten ; 
Weisheit stromet Well' auf Welle 
Aus des Sternleins lichter Quelle — 
Denn das Kindlein heisset Kraft. 

5. Wo die Liifte Flammen fuhren, 
Und die Wasser Engel ruhren, 

13* 



298 APPENDIX C. 

Wo das Wort dem Meer geboten 
Und erwecket hat die Todten, 
Wo das Felsengrab zerrissen 
Und die Holle weichen mi'issen — 
Dort hat sich der Stern gezeiget, 
Alles sich zum Sieg geneiget, 
Denn das Kindlein heisset Held. 

6. In den Kampf ist er gegangen 
Aus barmherzigem Verlangen, 
Zu des Feindes Lagerstatten, 
Die Gefang'nen zu erretten. 

In des Wortes heil'ger Riistung, 
Vor des Weltreichs finstrer Brlistung 
Er allein vor Satans-Nesten, 
Durch des Geistes Krieges-Vesten ; 
Der da Ewig- Vater heisst. 

7. Ewig in des Vaters Wesen 
Ist das Liebeswort gewesen, 
Endlich aus des Vaters Herzen 
Ging der Sohn in Liebesschmerzen, 
Um auf ewig Vater-Lieben 

An den Brudern auszuiiben ; 
Fiir den Tod will er das Leben, 
Fur den Zwiespalt Friede geben, 
Heisset Er doch Friede-Fiirst, 



Es ist vor Ihm hergezogen 
Jener schone Friedensbogen ; 
Als ein auss'rer Bundeszeuge, 
Dass des Hochsten Huld sich neige, 
Mit ihm strahlt der inn're Friede, 
Wie in jedem Farbengliede. 
Also wird Er Friede schaffen 
Durch der Wahrheit ein'ge Waffen — 
Friede Seinem Konigreich* 



MISCELLANEOUS. 299 

II. 

HELDENMUTH. 

(Heroic courage. St. Matth. xxn. 1-14. For the twentieth Sun- 
day after Trinity). 



1. Freiwillige ! hervor ins Feld, 
Hervor in Schmuck und Wehre, 
Es geht zum Konig in sein Zelt, 
Zum sieggewohnten Heere, 
Schaut nicht mehr nach dem Ffeerde um, 
Schv/enkt euer Fahnlein keck herum ! 

2. Wen angestrahlt das hochste Gut, 
Wem schon're Loose fielen, 
Wird nicht, wie ein Philister thut, 
Nach Weib und Aeckern schielen, 
Er schlagt, was irdisch in den Wind, 
1st ein frei heniich Gotteskind. 

3. Verachtet, was die Welt verehrt, 
Ehrt, was die Welt verhohnet, 
Schamt dessen sich, was sie bescheert, 
Ihr Lob er nicht begehret. 

Das ist der ebenbiirt'ge Held, 
Dem Gottes Einladung gefallt. 

4. Der zieht das Hochzeitkleid sich an, 
Er ist zum Fest bereitet, 

Die Seele glanzet als ein Schwan, 
Der sein Gefieder breitet, 
Und in des Wesens leuchtend Schild 
Erscheinet Gottes Ebenbild." 

5. Der Christ, der hochberuf'ne Gast, 
Hat weiter nicht zu schauen, 

Als nur nach jener Hochzeitrast 
Und ihrem Morgengrauen ; 
Das ist's, dass er nicht schlafen geht, 
Bestdndig auf der Wache steht. 

An apt portraiture of the fair writer's own character. M. 



300 APPENDIX C. 

III. 



DIE WENDUNG. 



(Turning. Farewell to Meran, which, as the Tyroleans sing, lies 
in the lap of the most beautiful valley of the Tyrol ; see above, 
p. 198). 



Du " Mutterlandel " im Tirolerland, 

Auch das Tiroler Paradies genannt, 

Du mahnst mich wie ein eigner Heimathort, 

Du nahmst mich auf, du warst ein Bergungsort ; 

Hier fand der Jugend Sehnsucht ihre Fliigel, 

Sich aufzuschwingen zu dem hochsten Felsenhiigel ; ■ 

Sie schaute die Verwandtschaft Himmels und der Erde, 

Sah Wolken rauchen auf dem Felsenherde. 

Und auf der Alpenzinn' 
Ueber das Schneefeld hin, 
Tief in der grauen Nacht 
Halt deine Gemse Wacht. 
Unterhalb lacht das Griin, . 
Darauf die Wolken zieh'n, 
Hangend in stiller Mitt' 
Winket die Sennerhutt. 

Wenn sich nun niedersenkt des Auges Licht, 
Sich ob dem griinen weichen Sammet bricht, 
Der deine Hangegarten ausgeschmiickt ; 
Dann ruht es wonnetrunken und erquickt 
In deines schonen Thales Gri'inden aus, 
Wohl schimmernd als ein reicher Blumenstrauss, 
Da — stark gewunden nach Tiroler Art — 
Der Mandelbaum sich mit der Pfirsich paart, 

Die ros'gen Arme nach dem Himmel streckt, 
Daran die Mandel ihre Lilien steckt, 
Und sie umgiebt des Weingelandes Pracht, 
In hohen Bogen aus des Erdreichs Schacht, 



MISCELLANEOUS. 301 

Die Thai und Hohen iippig iiberzieh'n, 
Allabendlich'* in dunkeln Trauben gliih'n 
Gesiedet von der heissen Sonnenlust, 
Feurig ergotzend des Meraners Brust. 

Doch nicht allein viel Fruchte edler Art, 
Viel hohe Burgen mit der stolzen Wart', 
Wo hier die Lanze der Cypresse ragt, 
Und dort des Oelbaums helles Silber tagt, 
Auf hohen Almen schlanke Kirchlein steh'n, 
Die auf des Felsbewohn ers Giiter seh'n, — 
Dem drei Mai Fruchte bringt der Feigenbaum, 
Dies ist ringsher der Alpenbilder Saurn. 

O schones Land, wo im Kastaniemvald 
Des Schutzen munt'res Jodeln wiederhallt ; 
Wo seine siisse Frucht ihm labt den Muth, 
Er im bekranzten Mandelschatten ruht', 
Auf altern Stamm ein neuer Wald sich hebt, 
Und im Gestein des Baumes Wachsthum lebt, 
Der Fruchtbaum sich durch seine Spalten drangt, 
Mit seinen bluh'nden Armen Felsen sprengt. 

Wie schlanker Epheu in dem grauen Stein 
Untrennlich wurzelt als zu einem Sein, 
Durchdringend sich zur stolzen Bliithenkron' 
Und zu des Seidenbaumes grlinem Thron : 
So wiederstrahlt der Morgenrothe Duft 
In hellen Eisesspiegels scharfer Luft, 
Und wie die Sonne hier stets milde scheint, 
So Liebliches und Grosses hier sich eint. 

Horst du das Brausen tief, 
Wo einst der Felsen schlief ? 
Das ist der Passer Bett, 
Dahin sie sich gerett't, 
Als jenes Berges Fall 
Sie wider ihre Wahl 

* In autumn. 



302 APPENDIX C. 

Aus ihren Bahnen riss, 
Und gen Meran verwies. 

War reissend ihre Fluth 
Vor andern Bergstroms Wuth, 
So schaumt ohn' Unterlass 
Durch jenen engen Pass 
Der wilde Drang bergab 
Zur starken Etsch hinab, 
In deren weisses Meer 
Ihr grimes Wellenheer. 

Und in der Wasser Schall 
Mischt sich der Biichse Knall, 
Des Felsenkindes Art, 
So keck zugleich als zart, 
Doch liber Allem thront 
Die in dem Heil'gen wohnt, 
Der Glockenstimme Laut, 
Des Felsenlandes Braut. 

Horch, welch' ein Rauschen dort, 
Welch' vielverschlung'nes Wort ! — 
Hier war des Stromes Klang, 
Dort des Gebetes Gang.* 
Und durch die Ltifte wallt 
Und zahllos wiederhallt 
Um alle Tagesstund' 
Der voile Glockenmund, 

Der von der Sonn' erzahlt, 
Die auf- und untergeht, 
Tirolers Bergmusik 
Vom Gliick und vom Ungliick, 
Von Berg zu Berg in's Thai 
Und endlich auf einmal, — 
Das Volk entblosst. sein Haupt — 
An's Unsichtbare glaubt. 

* The "Bittgang" or the procession. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 303 

Irn Herzen ach so warm, 
Den Stutzen in dem Arm 
Blickt der Tiroler drein, 
Er schaut so stolz als fein. 
In seiner kilhnen Brust 
Schlagt stete Jugendlust. 
Er spannt das Todesrohr, 
Sein Jodeln dringt an's Ohr. 

Ja hier ist noch des Deutschen Vaterland, 
Hier sind die fremden Klange noch verbannt; 
Hier ist die schlanke Schonheit der Gestalt 
Noch Bild der Kindesunschuld und Gewalt. 
Und wie das Alpenroslein lieblich schaut, 
Tirol in seinen Kindern nun sich baut. 
Der Fremdling muss ihm Rede steh'n, wohin ? 
Auch wo er bleibt, das heisst, wo er vorhin ? * 

Und keiner ist, der weiter wird gekannt, 
Als wie er in der Taufe ist benannt. 
Hier steht der Bauer als ein freier Mann, 
Legt seinen Schmuck auch bei der Arbeit an. 
Es wirft die Last das Magdlein auf ihr Haupt, 
Tritt damit hoch einher, von Wein umlaubt. 
Man trifft die deutsche Sitte hier noch an, 
Der Welsche ist dem Deutschen nicht der Mann. 

Hier wohnt noch Treu' und Glaube an das Wort, 
Die Bruderlieb' als gegenseit'ger Hort. 
Die off'ne Wahrheit ohne Zorn und Neid, 
Der klare Blick bei Kindeseinfachheit, 
Die Hoflichkeit des Herzens sonder List 
Hier allgemeiner Lebensgrundsatz ist. 
Es bliiht die Kunst aus der Natur empor, 
Die dranget Bild und Saitenspiel hervor. 

Wie's Kind in Vaters Hause, so vertraut 
Lebt hier das Volk, ein Tempel hoch erbaut ; 

* Where he lives. 



304 APPENDIX C. 

Der Priester steht ihm noch an Gottes Statt, 
"Weil in ihm selbst Gott eine Statte hat. 
So zieht der f rommen Briider braune Schaar * 
Von Berg zu Berg, an Haupt und Fiissen baar, 
Ein Wesensband verbindet Schaf und Hirt, 
Das Lammlein nicht auf eig'nen Wegen irrt. 

Denk ich der Mauer lieb', 
Wo wild die Passer trieb, 
Bube die " Kasten "f briet, 
Sang zu dem Wein sein Lied ! 
Oder der Zenoburg — 
Geht mir das Herze durch, 
Fort ins Passeierthal, 
Stets meiner Tritte Wahl. 

Schau ich von Berg zu Thai 
Meraners Feuerstrahl, 
Festlichen Flammengruss,^ 
Dazu den Freudenschuss, 
Nachtigalls Abendsang 
Am hohen Felsenhang : 
Stimm' ich sein Spruchlein an ♦ 
'S giebt doch nur ein Meran ! 

Horch ich des Priesters Wort 
An dem geweihten Ort ; 
Lausche dem Morgenstrahl 
Im St. Valentins Thai ; 
Oder mein stiller Weg 
Fiihrt mich St. Le'nhard's Steg ; 
Wenn ich den Jaufen schau 
Ueber der Riffians-Au, 

Die schone Mendelspitz', 
Muthbauers Felsensitz 

* The Capuchins, the real pastors of the Etsch valley, 
f Chestnuts. 

X A festival on the first Sunday in Lent among the valley folk, 
when at night bonfires appear on all the mountains. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 305 

Vom schonen Marlinger, 
Schaurig und lieblicher 
Als and'rer Lander Pracht, 
Des Etschthals Bild betracht'; 
Druben des Naifthals Schlucht, 
Wildester Schonheit Bucht ! 

Denk der Karthauserzell,* 
Von deren ernster Schwell 
Mein erstes lautes Wort f 
Ausging an feme Ort ; 
Im Blick Ifingers Thron 
Mit seiner gold'nen Kron' — 
Nimmer vergess ich dein, 
Wo ich mog immer sein ! 

Tragt mich gen Windschgau's Au 
Der stolze Marmorbau. 
Strahlt mir mein Dorf Tirol 
Von seiner Burg : Leb' wohl ! 
Wo ich so suss geruht, 
Durch Saumthiers sanften Muth : 
Ade, mein Rosenstein ! — 
Zielspitz im Morgenschein. 

Tirol, o mein Tirol ! 

Du Land der Wonne voll ! 

Dahin uns Gott gesandt, 

Und's Herz auf's Neu entbrannt ! 

Land, wo die Jugend stammt, 

Wo der Sternhimmel flammt, 

Wo neue Kraft ersteht, 

Und der Herr weiter geht. 

* Where she lived, in an ancient Carthusian monastery on the 
Rennweg. 

f Allusion to the Liebe zur Wahrheit, published by the Countess 
in 1850. 



306 APPENDIX C. 

Aus deinem Felsenhaus 
Auf eine Eck' hinaus,-' 
Frischen Trunk in der Brust, 
Geht's nun in Fried' und Lust ; 
Aus stillem Rtisttags-Ort : 
Auf uns'res Gottes Wort, 
Glaubig wie Kinder thun, 
Die an der Mutter ruh'n. 

Treten die Wallfahrt an, 
Wie's im Tirol wir sah'n, 
Ganz sonder Furcht und Frag', 
Dahin's Gellibd' uns trag', 
Das Gnadenbild in Mitt', 
Wir haben uns're Bitt'; — 
Gehorsam ist der Kern, 
Sein Wille unser Stern. 



THE MINISTER IN COMPANY. 

Extract from a Memorandum Book, written by Ebel, Nov. 
6, 1820. 

' ' A minister should be as careful of his conduct and as watchful 
of his thoughts in company, even the company of his friends, as 
he is in the pulpit. The whole of his life should be one ser- 
mon. Let him therefore refrain, as much as he may, from taking 
part in general conversation, and reflect on every word before he 
utters it. Let it be his aim at all times to harmonize, explain and 
mediate. It belongs to his sacred office and ministry to preach 
reconciliation, first to and amongst men, and then by this very 
means, to God. Gracious Father, how humble we ought to be in 
Thy presence in order to avoid giving offence by a single word ! " 



* To Hoheneck, near Ludwigsburg, in Wtirttemberg, where the 
author of the poem had bought a country seat, and went to occupy 
it with Dr. Ebel and his family. 



MISCELLANEOUS. 307 

LITERATURE. 

Schonherr, J. H., Si eg der gbttlichen Offenbantng, etc. (Victory 
of the Divine Revelation), Konigsberg 1804. Out of print. 

The following works may be considered to contain the views of 
that extraordinary man : 

Bujack, Naturkmide (Natural Science), in Manuscript, composed 
after conversations with Schonherr and by his express co-operation. 

De la Chevallerie, Colonel, Dcnkschrift fur die gute Zeit, 
Konigsberg, 1835-6, said to have been dictated by Schonherr dur- 
ing the winter of 1808-9. Also, 

Sachs, L. W., Grundlinien zu einem naturlichen dynamischen 
System der practise ken Medicin (Outlines of a natural dynamic sys- 
tem of practical Medicine), Berlin, 1821 ; Ueber Wissen und 
Gewissen, etc. (On Knowledge and Conscience), Berlin, 1826. 

Olshausen, C/uishis der einige Master (Christ the only Master), 
Konigsberg, 1826. 

Bock, Johannes Schonherr, dargestellt in seinem Leben und 
Wirken, etc. (Life and Labors of J. H. S.), in Preuss. Prov. Blatter, 

1833. 

Olshausen, Ein Wort der Verstandigung, etc. (A Word of 
Explanation, etc.), Konigsberg, 1833. 

Bujack, Berichtigungen, etc. (Corrections), in the same journal, 
1834, also a second contribution to the same periodical. 

DlESTEL, Wie das Evangelism entstellt wird, etc. (How the 
Gospel is caricatured, etc.), reply to Olshausen, Konigsberg, 1833. 
Zur Scheiditng und Unterscheidung, etc. (Separation and Dis- 
tinction, etc.), Konigsberg, 1834. 

Olshausen, Die neuesten Schtiften des Herm Prediger Diestel 
beurtheilt (The recent works of Pastor Diestel criticised), ibid., 
1834. Leben und Lehre des Konigsberger Theosophen, Johann 
Heinrich Schonherr (Life and Doctrine of the Konigsberg theo- 
sophist Johann Heinrich Schonherr), ibid., 1834. 

Anonymous, Die Schutzwehr. Abgenothigte Bemerkimgen iiber 
die in der jiingst erschienenen Streitschtift des HerrnProf. Olshausen 
gegen Prediger Diestel enthaltenen Darstellung und Beurtheilung 
des durch den Theosophen Schonherr an das Licht getretenen Sys- 
tems (The Bulwark, or Remarks necessitated by the representations 
and critique of the system set forth by Joh. H. Schonherr, the 



308 APPENDIX C. 

theosophist, as contained in Professor Olshausen's polemical pam- 
phlet recently published), ib., March, 1834. By the same authors: 
Das Panier der Wahrheit (The Banner of Truth), ib. , November, 
1834. 

Anonymous, Joh. H. Schonherr und die von ihm erkannte Wahr- 
heit, etc. (Joh. H. Schonherr and the truth cognized by him, etc.), 
two pamphlets, ib., 1835. 

Anonymous, Gcgenseitige Liebe, die Quelle alles Werdens, oder 
Zeugniss von dem Ursprung der Welt (Reciprocal Love, the Source 
of Being, or Testimony on the Origin of the World), ibid., May, 
1834. 

Anonymous, Die Blumen ah Verkiindiger und Zeugen der 
Wahrheit (The flowers as heralds and and witnesses of the truth), 
ibid., June, 1834. 

DIESTEL AND EBEL, Verstand und Vernunft im Bunde 
mit der Offenbarung Goltes durch das Anerkenntniss des wortlichen 
Inhalts der heiligen Schrift (Understanding and Reason in alliance 
with the Divine Revelation by the reception of the verbal contents 
of the Holy Scriptures), two treatises, also with separate titles, in 
one volume 8vo, Leipzig, 1837. By the same authors : Zeugniss der 
Wahrheit, etc. (Witness of the Truth, etc.), Leipzig, 1838 ; Johann 
Heinrich Schonherr s Princip der beiden Urwesen, etc. (J. H. S.'s 
Principle of the two Primal Beings), by Diestel ; and Der Schlussel 
zur Erkenntniss der Wahrheit, etc. (Key to the Knowledge of the 
Truth), by Ebel, etc 

Diestel, Bin Zeugenverhor im Criminalprocesse gegen die Predi- 
ger Ebel und Diestel, etc. (Examination of the Witnesses in the 
Criminal Suit against Ebel and Diestel), Leipzig, 1838. Abridged 
in Kanitz's Mahnzvort (Exhortation), Basel and Ludwigsburg, 
1868. Also, Ursache tmd Wirkung auch im Bereiche des Glau- 
bens geltend gemacht und.erwiesen (Cause and Effect claimed and 
proved in Matters of Faith), Konigsberg, 1835. Das Gesetz des 
Rechts und des Verstandes gegen dialektische Gesetzlosigkeit, etc. 
(The Law of Right and of the Understanding versus Lawlessness, 
etc.) Die rationelle Sprachforschung auf ihrem gegenwdrtigen 
Standpunhte (Rational Inquiry into the Philosophy of Language in 
its present state), Konigsberg, 1854. 

Ebel, Die Weisheit von Oben (Wisdom from Above), Sermons, 
Konigsberg, 1823 ; Der Tagesanbruch (Dawn), Sermons, Essays and 



MISCELLANEOUS. 309 

Addresses, ibid., 1824 ; Die Gedeihliche Erzie hung (Salutary Educa- 
tion), Essay, and Hints to Parents and Teachers, etc., Hamburg, 
1825; Was gilt im Chistenthum? (What does avail in Chris- 
tianity ?), two Sermons, Konigsberg, 1825 ; Biblische Sprtiche (Bible 
Texts), Guide to primary Christian Instruction, 6th edition, 1842 ; 
Biblische Weihnachtsgabe fiir Alt und Jung (A Biblical Christmas 
Gift for the Old and the Young), Hamburg, 1827 ; Bibelworte 
(Bible Words), Guide to Christian Instruction of Youth, Hamburg, 
1827 ; Das Chris twit hum oder Winke zum Verstdndniss der Bibel- 
worte, etc. (Christianity, or Hints to the understanding of Bible 
Words, Hamburg, 1827 ; Die Apostolische Predigt ist zeitgemass, 
etc. (Apostolical Preaching is Timely), a Treatise for the benefit of 
Christians, Hamburg, 1835 ; Die Treue (Fidelity), Sermons, 
Konigsberg, 1835 ; 2d edition, Basel and Ludwigsburg, 1863 ; 
Schutzschrift fur die Bibel gegen die Schriftwidrigkeit unserer 
Zeitgenossen, etc., (Apology for the Bible against the unbiblical atti- 
tude of our contemporaries, etc.) ; Grundziige der Erkenntniss der 
Wahrheit, etc. (Characteristics of the Knowledge of the Truth, etc. ), 
Leipzig, 1852. 

Die Philosophie der heiligen Urkunde des Christenthums. I. Die 
Berechtigung. II. , III. , Das Rathsel der Erkenntniss, (The Phi- 
losophy of the Sacred Records of Christianity. I. Title. II., 
III., The Riddle of Knowledge), Stuttgart, 1854-1856. This is 
a most thoughtful and exceedingly valuable book, and a perfect 
mine of wealth. The Author cannot too highly recommend it 
to his brethren in the Ministry as very suggestive and full of the 
choicest illustrations. The contents are : Part I. Relation of Faith 
and Knowledge. — Knowledge (Gnosis) the want of our time. — The 
Bible contains the true knowledge, the ancient philosophy. — Coper- 
nicus and the Christian Thought. — Authoritative faith and liberty 
of thinking. — Spiritual Experience. — The Regeneration of Thought. 
— Part II. The end of knowledge. — It is presented in the form of 
a riddle. — Its solution declined, or a failure. — Monotheism, Panthe- 
ism, Monism. — Spinoza and Spinozism. — Part III. Absolutism and 
Christianity. — On the Personality of the Deity, the Continuance of 
Man, and Free Will. — Helps to solve the riddle. 

The Latin mottoes of these three parts are : I. Res divinas non dis- 
putatio comprehendit, sed sanctitas, Bernhard. — II. Ut auiem magnum 
ornamentum est et vita humance et ecclesice, philosophia, cum rccte 



3IO APPENDIX C, 

erudite, sobrie et moderate traditur, itapestis est et corruptela judici* 
orum, cum pro philosophia instillaiur animis confusio opionum ver- 
arum et falsarum et accessitur studium absurda defendendi verborum 
prcesiigiis, ut alii Epicurceos furores, alii Stoicorum deliramenta, 
alii alias opiniones tueri conentur. Talis consuetudo parit sycophan- 
tas, artium et vitce conturbatores, Melancthon. — III. Non tamen quia 
aliquando erratum est, ideo semper errandum. Non enim vincimur 
quando offeruntur nobis meliora, sed instruimur, Cyprianus. The 
German mottoes are equally pointed : I. " It is not the purpose of 
God to eradicate nature, but allow the natural to remain and to 
direct it to its right course. "-Luther. II. " The Godhead consists 
in the lordship of the To-be, and the ultimate and highest end of 
all philosophy is to advance from mere being to the lordship of the 
To-be. "-v. Schelling. III. " Of what benefit can truth be to us, un- 
less, like the sun in the clear heavens, it shine into the eyes of every- 
body that looks up to it ? What can it profit us if, flying from the 
open fields of the human, it is hidden in the mists of an exclusive 
school ?"-Ph. C. Hartmann . 

Einige Worte ilber Kindererziehung (A few words on the Edu- 
cation of Children), an abridgment of Gedeihliche Erziehung, Lud- 
wigsburg, 1859. — The last named work has been translated into 
English (1825), and extracts from quite a number of the other works 
may be read in French, in Compas de route pour les amis de la ve'riie', 
etc., Konigsberg, 1859. — Das Bose und sein Anhang siegt nicht 
(Evil, and those who follow it, do not prevail) ; a posthumous pub- 
lication, containing a sermon, Basel, 1875. 

Separate Sermons : Besonnen sein — wie heilsam in dieser unserer 
Zeit (Circumspection, how salutary in our time), on St. Luke xiii. 
1-9, Konigsberg, 1831. Der wahrhaft christliche Ban (The truly 
Christian building) on St. Matthew vii. 15-25, ibid., 1835. Gottes 
Freunde in dieser Welt (The friends of God in this world) on Acts 
xix. 1-10, 20-40, ibid., 1835. A number of his writings remain in 
manuscript. 

Kahler, L. A. , Mittheihtngen fiber sein Leben und seine Schriften 
(Information concerning the life and writings of L. A. Kahler) 
Konigsberg, 1856. This book drew out the following : 

Hahnenfeld, Ein Moment aus den Mittheihtngen des Consis- 
toriabath Kahler ilber das Leben und die Schriften seines Voters, 
beleuchtet, etc., (Momentous particulars in the information given 



MISCELLANEOUS. 311 

by Cons. Councillor Kahler concerning the life and writings of his 
father, explained, etc.), Braunsberg, 1856. — Die religiose Bewegung 
zu Konigsberg in Preussen, etc. (The religious movement at 
Konigsberg in Prussia, etc.), Braunsberg, 1858. 

Von Bardeleben, E. E., Bin Blickanf die einstige Ste Hung der 
Oberprdsidenten Auerswald und Schon, etc. (A glance at the 
former relations of the Provincial Governors Auerswald and Schon, 
etc.), Stuttgart, 1844. 

Vox der Groben, Ida, Countess, Die Liebe ztcr Wahrheit (The 
love of the truth), Stuttgart, 1850. — Wissenschafi tmd Bibel 
(Science and the Bible), ibid., 1856. — Morgenwache (Morning 
Watch), poems, edited by Miss Ebel, Basel, 1878. 

Kaxitz, E., Count of, Aufkldrung nach Acienqnellen iiber den 
Konigsberger Religionsprocess (Elucidation by the official record of 
the Kongisberg Religious Suit), Basel and Ludwigsburg, 1862 ; His- 
torischer Auszug, etc. (Historic Abridgment of the former, etc.) 
ibid., 1864. — Ein Mahnwort zu Gtinstcn der Nachwelt^ etc. (A 
word of exhortation addressed to posterity, etc.) ibid., 1868. 

Dixon, Spiritual Wives, London, 1868. Answered by : 

Ebel, Wilhelm, Dr., Dixon s und Dime ker's Seelenbrdute sil- 
houettirt (Dixon's and Duncker's Spiritual Wives Outlined), Basel 
and Ludwigsburg, 1869. 

Axoxymous, Wenn die Menschen wider Dick wiithen, legest du 
Ehre ein, und wenn sie noch mehr wiithen, bist du ciuch nock 
geriistet, Psalm lxxxvi. 11, Luther's version, Basel, no date, contains 
a capital synopsis of the suit, in four parts, the last giving the 
names of encyclopaedias and other, works in which a true account 
of the matter narrated in this volume may now be found. The 
last work of this kind is the American edition of Herzog, which, 
for the first time, discharges that act of justice to the English 
reading public. 

Besides this long list of works, there are very many articles in 
newspapers, reviews, etc., which, for want of space, cannot be 
enumerated. 



INDEX. 



A. 

JEon, 278. 

yEsthetical Club at Konigsberg, 

35- 
ApostohschePredigt, etc., quoted, 

77- 

Appendix A, 218. 

Appendix B, 258. 

Appendix C, 293. 

Armenpflege, 114. 

Auerswald Family, 135 ; Ru- 
dolph's statement, 189. 

Augsburg Confession, 38. 

Aufklarang, etc., quoted, 142, 
160 sqq., 167, 170. 

Autographs of Ebel, 188, 200. 

Awake and Awakened Distin- 
guished, 52, 53. 



B. 



Baer, Ueber das allgemeine Gesetz, 

etc., quoted, 286. 
Bardeleben, E. E. Von, 123, 124, 

135. 

Bible Classes, 39. 

Bibliotheca Sao'a, article on Ebel 

in, referred to, 178. 
Body, The (soma), 287. 
Borowski, Rev. Mr., 37, 38. 



C. 



Catechisation, 58, 102. 
Catechumens, how to retain 



them, 60 ; classified, 100-103 ; 
petition of, 182-184. 

Change, 264 ; The Great Change ; 
sermon, 218. 

Chapel of Frederic College, ser- 
vice in, described, 73. 

Christ Jesus, the Person of, 283. 

Christmas Celebration, 194. 

Confession, 85. 

Confirmation in the Lutheran 
church, 100, 101. 

Consciousness after Death, 29T. 

Consentius, Mrs., 143, 204. 

Consistory, 64 ; see also Reli- 
gious suit, passim. 

Contemporary Review, 177. 

Crelinger, letter of, 16S-9, 174. 



D. 



Deputation, Ecclesiastical and 
Scholastic, 62 ; assails Ebel, 
79 ; informs against, 80 ; re- 
buked, 80-82. 

Derschau, Mathilde von, 216. 
, family, 134. 



Diestel, Heinrich, Rev., his tes- 
timony of Ebel's preaching, 
88 ; details concerning him, 
132-3 ; his writings, see Liter- 
ature in Appendix C. 

Dixon, W. H., referred to, 178. 

Dohna, Count von, 32 ; his sons, 
32-34 ; presents Ebel to the 
living at Hermsdorf, 37, 38 ; 
extracts from letters, 45, 46 ; 
offers Ebel another living, 65. 

313 



3H 



INDEX. 



Dualism, relative of Schonherr, 
24, sq. ; see also Appendix B. 
Duality, 269, 272 (Gothe). 

E. 

Ebel, Johann Jacob, Rev., 7 ; 
averse to his son's studying 
theology, 13 ; becomes more 
evangelical, 86 ; his death, 86, 
note. 

Ebel, Johannes Wilhelm, the 
Venerable, Ph.D. ; birth, 7 ; 
youth, g sq. ; first instruction, 
9 ; at the Latin school, K6- 
nigsberg, 10 ; inventiveness, 
12 ; early reading, 15 ; school 
testimonial, 17 ; relations to 
fellow-students, 18 ; death of 
his mother, 19 ; doubts, 19-21; 
becomes acquainted with 
Schonherr, 21; resemblance to 
Schonherr noted, 23; a candi- 
date, 30 ; assistant-master, 30 ; 
tutor of the Count Dohna, 32 ; 
made Ph.D., 35 ; pastor at 
Hermsdorf, 37 ; ordination, 
39 ; robbed, 39 ; intercourse 
with the French, 40-45 ; a 
hostage, 42 ; spiritual crisis, 
48, 49 ; occupies the parson- 
age, 56 ; studies hymnology, 
57 ; his interest in schools, 57 ; 
catechisation, 58 ; assailed by 
the Deputation, 62 ; applies 
for the vacancy at Frederic 
College, 64, 65 ; examined, 66 ; 
appointment, 67 ; institution, 
67 ; farewell to Hermsdorf and 
marriage, 68 ; his catholicity 
illustrated, 68 ; the only evan- 
gelical preacher at Konigs- 
t> er g. 73 \ estimate of his 
preaching, 74 ; sermons during 
the war, 74-76 ; other sermons 
in full, Appendix A ; comfort- 
ed by the experiences of Dr. 
Lysius, 83 ; his popularity, 84 ; 
chosen pastor of the Old Town 



Church, and his inaugural, 84 ; 
that church his spiritual home, 
86 ; associations, 86, 87 ; cure 
of souls, 87, 88 ; his appear- 
ance, 88 ; testimonies concern- 
ing his ministerial efficieney 
and success, 89-91 ; his the- 
ology, 96 ; his preaching, 97- 
100 ; differences between him 
and Schonherr, 107-112 ; let- 
ter to Schonherr, 112, 113 ; 
care of the poor, 114 ; he and 
Diestel found the Prediger 
Kranzchen, 146 ; his friends, 
1 31-144 ; his enemies, 145- 
150 ; popular sympathy, 185- 
191 ; farewell letters, 186, 7 ; 
letter to Gasbeck, 187 ; auto- 
graphs, 188, 200; account of his 
family, 192 ; moves to Grunen- 
feld, 193 ; visit to Konigsberg, 
195 ; to Marienbad, 198 ; re- 
sides at Meran, 198-200 ; set- 
tles at Hoheneck, 200 ; life 
there, 200, sq. ; jubilee, 205 ; 
birthday, 205 ; his death, 209, 
10 ; sepulture, 211, 212 ; list 
of his works, Appendix C. 
Ebel, Mrs., her death, 215. 

Adalberta, Miss, 40, 192 ; 

see also Appendix C. 

Lebrecht, 192. 

Theodor, 192, 200. 

Wilhelm, Ph.D., 178, 192 ; 

see also Appendix C. 
Elohim, 270, 271, 274. 
Emotional preaching, 77. 
Erfiillimg, poem, 296. 
Eternity, 278. 
Evangelical, the term defined, 

64. 
Ewald's account of the plurahs 

viajcstaticus, 26. 

F. 

False friends, 121, 122 ; 127-30. 
Farewell letters, 186, 187. 
Fast Day discourses, 78. 



INDEX. 



315 



77- 

Fidelity in the least, sermon, 248. 
Fink, Count, 144 sq. ; 137. 
Fire, nature of, 274, 275. 
Frederic College, 64 ; work there, 

70. 
French the, near Hermsdorf, 

40-45 ; their irreligion, and 

respect for religion, 47, 
Friedrich Wilhelm III., 135, 

143 ; 184. 
Friedrich Wilhelm IV., 135. 
Friendship explained, 117, 118. 



G. 

Gasbeck, letter to, 187. 
Gedeihliche Erziehung quoted, 

31, 71, 117. 

Gellert's, Moral Prelections, 15. 

Gichtel and Gichtelians, 69. 

God, Schonherr's notion of, 268. 

Gothe, Farbenlehre, quoted, 272 ; 
Morphologie, quoted, 287. 

Groben, von der Ida, Countess, 
testimony of Ebel's preaching, 
90— 91 ; her character and de- 
tails of her life, 135-138 ; at 
Meran, 19S-200 ; moves to 
Hoheneck, 200 ; her death, 
205 ; her writings, Appendix 
C. 

Grundziige der Erkenntniss der 
Wahrheit, quoted, 264, 267, 
268, 276. 

Grunenfeld, life at, described, 
193-196. 



Hamann, Johann Georg, Magus 
of the North, 16. 

Hamann, Dr., 10 ; his method, 
14 ; a sneerer, 17. 

Happiness, 267. 

Harvesthome at Grunenfeld, 196. 

Heaven and Hell, 290. 

Heldounuth, poem, 299. 

Herder, 17. 

Hermsdorf, 37-68 ; the people's 
joy at Ebel's preferment, 86. 

Heyking, Ernst, Baron von, 40, 
139, 189, 193. 

Hoheneck, 200-216. 

Holy War, sermon, quoted, 75- 
76. 

Hufen-Schul-Verein, 117. 

Hymns, study of, 57 ; comfort 
drawn from them, 94 ; quoted, 
204, 209, 215 ; also in sermons 
contained in Appendix A ; fa- 
mous hymns, Appendix C. 



Impenetrability, 276. 
Industrial school, 115. 



H. 



Hahnenfeld, Edward von, his 

youth, 138; testimony of, 179 ; 

invitation from him, 193 ; 

particulars, 197. 
Hahnenfeld, Friedrich von, and 

his sisters, 19" 
Hake, 157. 



J- 



Jesus, Meine Liebe, lebet, hymn, 

293- 
Jesus, meine Zuversicht, hymn, 

295. 
Joy, described, 104-106. 



K. 



Kahler, Cons. Councillor, ac- 
count of, 144. 

Kanitz, Ernst Wilhelm, Count 
von, 121 ; character, 133 ; ob- 
ituary, 133 ; testimonial, 159 ; 
his relation to the Suit, 160- 
162 ; his munificence, 184, 



316 



INDEX. 



198 ; death, 216. See also 

Literature, Appendix C. 
Kanitz, Minna, Countess von, 

her character, 134 and passim. 
Kanitz, Charlotte, Countess von, 

135, 145, 198. 
Kingdom of God, 282, 283. 



L. 

Lackner, Rev. Mr., 184. 
Lactantius, quoted, 189-90. 
Larisch, Lieutenant-general von, 

143 ; his children, 143. 
Leinweber, Auguste, marries 

Ebel, 68 ; see also Mrs. Ebel. 
Leinweber Bernhardt, 188, 213. 
Liberty, Moral, 95. 
Licht in der Dunkelheit, quoted, 

278. 
Liebe zur Wahrheit, quoted, 91, 

261, 288. 
Light, nature of, 271. 
Lilienthal, Gute Sache, 163, 
Limits of Thought, 277. 
Literature, 307. 
LogoSj the, 283. 
Love, the power of, 108, 109. 
Luther's Version, illustrated, 93. 
Lysius, Dr., founder of Frederic 

College, 83. 



M. 



Mahnwort, quoted, 132 ; and 
passim. 

Man, compared to a musical in- 
strument, 140-141. 

Meran, 198-200. 

Miller, Moral Delineations, 15. 

Minister, the, in company, 306. 

Ministerium for ecclesiastical af- 
fairs rebukes the Deputation, 
81, 82. 

Mirbach, Seline von, 138, 149. 

Mission, Ebel's, as viewed by 
himself, 94, 95. 



Morgenwache, selections from, 

296, sqq, 
Mimchow, Carl, Count von ; his 

character, 141, 142 ; invites 

Ebel, 193 ; his autobiography 

quoted, 203. 
Nicolovius, State Councillor, 64. 
Noble Christians, 131 sqq. 

O. 

Odium Theologicum, 74 ; see 
also "Religious Suit," 151- 
190. 

Olam, 278-281. 

Oldtown Church, at Konigs- 
berg, 85 sqq. \ Ebel elected 
preacher, 84; services there, 88; 
characteristics, 89, 90 ; demol- 
ished, 124-27 ; the congrega- 
tion, 131, 32 ; the present in- 
cumbent, 184 ; site preserved 
from desecration, 184 ; view 
of the church, frontispiece. 

Origin of Evil, 281. 



P. 



Pedagogical Society, 70. 
Panier der Wahrheit, quoted, 268. 
Paradox, A, Sermon, 236. 
Passenheim, birthplace of Ebel, 

7- 
Petition of Catechumens, 182- 

184. 
Philosophic der heiligen Urkun- 

de, quoted, 291. 
Pleasures defined, 105, 106. 
Poetry, Selected hymns and ex- 
tracts from Morgenwache, 293, 

sqq. 
Popular sympathy with Ebel, 

185, 191. 
Prayer meetings not favored by 

Ebel, 103. 
Preaching of Ebel, 96-99. 
Prediger Conferenz, 146. 
Prediger Kranzchen, 146. 



INDEX. 



317 



Quittainen, birthplace of Mrs. 
Ebel, 68. 



R. 



Rationalism, 78. 

Regeneration^ 2S8. 

Reinhardt, Uber den Werth der 

Kleinigkeiten, 252. 
Religiose Bezvegung, etc., quoted, 

179. 
Religiose Nebenstunden, quoted, 

59-. 

Religious instruction in gymna- 
sia ; lecture on, 70. 

Religious Suit, 150. 

Rescripts, Ministerial, 80 sqq. ; 
against Pietism, etc., 127. 

Responsibility, Ebel's sense of, 
92. 

Rieger's Sermons, quoted, 50, 

51, 53- 
Rogge, Professor, extracts from 

letter to him, 130. 
Romer, Pastor, 211, 212. 



S. 



Sachs, Dr., no, 122, 157. 

Saucken, Miss Salome von, 196. 

Schenkendorf Max von, 36, 202. 

Schleiermacher, 80. 

Schon, his character, 123, 136 : 
passim. 

Schonherr, J. H. His life and 
writings, Appendix B, 258 ; 
also Appendix C, ; his acquaint- 
ance with Ebel, 21 ; his dual- 
ism, 24-26 ; his personal ap- 
pearance, 26 ; snubbed by the 
Eccl. and School Deputation, 
62 ; his views examined by the 
Ministerium, 80-82 ; difference 
between him and Ebel, 107 ; 
characteristics 108-110; er- 
roneous notions, ill, 112 ; 
Ebel's letter to him, 112, 113 ; 



his death 113. See also " Lit- 
erature," Appendix C, Bock. 

Schliissel zur Krkenntniss, etc., 
quoted, 22, 263, 277, 283, 285, 
286, 288, 291. 

Schools, rewards in, 57 ; Ebel's 
interest in schools, 115, 116. 

Schrotter, Chancellor von, 119, 
120. 

Schrotter, Mrs. Chancellor von, 
136, 141 ; her family, 119, 

139- 
Schrotter, Emilie von, extracts 

from her memoranda, 139-141. 
Schulz, pastor, letter from, 195. 
Schutzwehr die, quoted, 269, 284. 
Sectirerei explained, 87. 
Sentences, the, against Ebel, 174, 

175. 

Sermons of Ebel, Appendix A ; 
described, 99, 100. 

Sermon themes at Frederic Col- 
lege, 72. 

Sieg der gottlichen offenbarung, 
quoted, 25, 270. 

Social intercourse, 118, 119. ; 

Society at Konigsberg, 64, 119. 

Soul, the, 287. 

Sound referred to as illustrating 
the dualistic principle, 270, 

273- 
Spirit, the (pnettmd), 287. 
Spi'iich - Sanwilung, illustrated, 

71. 

Steinwender, Advocate, letter 

from, 214. 
Steinwender, Mina, Miss, 214. 



T. 

Tages-Anbnich, quoted, 56, 109. 
Theology of Ebel, 96. 
Tippelskirch, 122, 123 ; passim. 
Trescho's Religiose Nebenstunden, 

59- 
Trene, die, quoted, 61. 
Trichotomic distinction of the 

nature of man, 287. 



3i3 



INDEX. 



U. 

Ursache tind Wirkung auch im 
Bereich des Glaitbens, quoted, 
290. 

V. 

Verstand und Vernunft, quoted, 
54, 281. 



W. 

Wagner's Staais-und Gesellschafts 

Lexicon, quoted, 207. 
Water, nature of, 275. 
Weihnachtsbescheerung, 185,194. 
Wendung, die, Appendix C. 
Wilhelm I. Emperor, 135% 
Wollner's edict, 172. 
Word, the, 273, 283. 



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